It can be a roller coaster ride to build some characters, both emotionally and technically…and sometimes that means I’m surrounded by uncomfortable images.“
While Jinks’s leanings toward science and psychology make his art resolutely contemporary, he operates within an unquenchable high-art tradition of figurative sculpture. He offers new insights into themes that resonated before the original Pieta. There’s the crucifixion-like piece “The Hanging Man,” the resting reversal of “Unsettled Dogs,” and the likes of “Doghead”—a subtle emotion in every face, a fascination with anatomy everywhere.
“I love the momentum of Renaissance works. They have a currency that we are wired to respond to,” Jinks said. “Works from that period tend to be religiously based and very influential. My work draws on a lot from the Renaissance but is grounded in science and the contemporary world.”
In doing so, Jinks manages to combine a passionate attention to detail, an appreciation of art-historically valid forms and themes, and the stormy psychology of the post-existential era.
“The Hanged Man” is probably the best highlight of this set. The Hanged Man who was nailed to the cross did not have the majesty of his open arms, nor did he die quickly. Life slipped away from the Hanged Man slowly and meekly. The everyman theme of trendy tailoring is again present. We know this person. Compassion arises spontaneously. Sadly, he has resigned himself to his fate. He still has strength. He pressed his fingers against the back wall, unwilling to push away completely, unwilling to give up his strange martyrdom.
In this way, the “hanged man” is a modern martyr. The urge to believe that we live for something and die for something is stripped away. What’s left is another deteriorating everyman, pinned to the wall by his own stupid will. While any opinion of Jinks’ work is obviously subjective, it’s impossible to view the work without interpreting it. The familiarity was too much. He admits that the process is “an emotional journey”: “It can be a roller coaster ride, both emotionally and technically, sculpting some characters,” he says, explaining his process. “I use a lot of reference material: photos, live models, live models in various poses and body parts. Sometimes that means I’m surrounded by uncomfortable images.”
Alone in his studio, admiring unsettling works like “The Hanged Man,” or the alien vulnerability of a giant fetus or the nameless, mouthless aberrations of a man’s face, Jinks gets to the crux of the tenderness and violence of the human animal.
But he kept his intentions to himself. Jinks said the piece was not intentional but instinctive, and the connection between him and his audience was wordless. It is open to the distance of experience and time.
“I can’t control how people feel after the work is completed, as individuals’ perspectives on life and art can vary greatly. I accept that.”*
This article originally appeared in High Fructose Issue 27, which is now sold out. Subscribe to High Fructose here to get our latest issue.
