Aryel René Jackson merges film, sculpture, and installation to explore history, memory, and identity within Black American and Creole experiences. Their work weaves archival material, speculative storytelling, and poetic narration to examine racialized landscapes, belonging, and transformation themes. Through projects like Doubt and Imagination, A Welcoming Place, and Resonant Landscapes, Jackson creates immersive, layered narratives that challenge fixed histories. Their interdisciplinary approach invites audiences to engage critically with the past while imagining alternative futures.
Aryel René Jackson (b. 1991, Louisiana) is a Black Creole American artist whose work spans sculpture, video, sound, and performance, exploring landscape as a personal and historical representation site. Raised in New Orleans and now based in Austin, Jackson examines themes of inheritance, identity, and transformation through repurposed imagery, archival materials, and speculative narratives. Their research considers 'forecasting' as a framework for social engagement, reinterpreting meteorological language to shift cultural perspectives. Jackson’s installations merge abstraction and representation, weaving familial archives with public histories to highlight Black, Indigenous, and Creole resilience. They have collaborated with choreographer Michael J. Love to explore cultural memory through performance and video. An alum of The Cooper Union, UT Austin, and Skowhegan, Jackson also teaches, emphasizing critical thinking, experimentation, and accessibility in digital tools. Their work reflects the evolving relationship between history, land, and belonging.
Top Image: Land that no longer “belongs” to us and now in memory and story.
Bottom Image: Courtesy of the artist. Behind the scenes of Jackson’s animation process.
Bottom Image: Courtesy of the artist. Behind the scenes of Jackson’s animation process.
Jackson’s practice blends film, sculpture, and installation to explore history, imagination, and identity themes within Black American and Creole experiences. Their work incorporates poetic narration, archival materials, and speculative storytelling to create immersive, contemplative spaces that engage with personal and collective memory. Projects like Doubt and Imagination and A Welcoming Place investigate legacy and racialized landscapes, using dynamic visuals and sound to evoke introspection and critical dialogue. In Resonant Landscapes, Jackson expands into sci-fi narratives, merging historical archives with futuristic speculation to question environmental and cultural shifts. Through an interdisciplinary approach, Jackson crafts layered experiences that challenge fixed narratives, inviting audiences into an evolving dialogue with history and place.