This is a very brightly coloured diorama. It’s in an orange cabinet with a blue pattern at the bottom that looks like paintbrushes. It shows a figure painting a picture on an easel, holding a paintbrush in his mouth. Lots of small figures are floating around him.
Whilst in hospital I started to attend Pinderfields Hospital Special School in Wakefield. The classroom was just at the end of D Ward. This was to prove a huge moment for me, as education was made available and a new world of possibilities opened up. I was just like my favourite fictional character, Pip from ‘Great Expectations’, who came from lowly beginnings but wanted to be a gentleman.
It was at school that I was taught to paint with my mouth. This was such a huge, momentous thing, as my energies now went into creating new worlds. I wasn’t limited to just living in my head; I could externalise my imagination in a very real way. I filled up many sketchbooks and started to create characters. It was the start of my journey as an artist.
To ensure that I could paint, my whole body had to have external adaptations added. I had a surgical collar, which was made from thick leather and covered most of my neck, chest and head. I had a spinal brace to keep me upright, and a series of straps to keep me straight in the wheelchair. On my legs I had callipers and huge boots. I had arm callipers which kept my arms straight and were meant to move on a pivot on the wheelchair, but I was unable to do this, as I had no movement in my arms.
The paintbrush and pencil were attached to a device which looked like a surgical tooth brace. It was all wire and plastic with a tube attached, through which the paintbrush or pencils could be placed. My wheelchair had a high back so my head wouldn’t fall back. I felt almost robotic, as there was not a part of my body which did not have some kind of attachment to it. This is why I’ve depicted my bottom half as a Dalek from ‘Doctor Who’. (I love Tom Baker – he was my favourite Doctor.)
I’ve given myself one big eye, which is bulging out towards the canvas. I’m surrounded by characters from my other artworks. They include things like a hippo with wings, which is high up on the left. A cockerel with a man’s head, which is in the top-right corner, and there’s a mermaid lower down. A face with red lips and a beard is grinning from the bottom-right corner. This is an influence from an illustration of Charles Dickens, where he’s sitting surrounded by all of his creations.
This is a bright, celebratory scene, as I’m finding my true vocation as an artist. And my imagination can’t be contained. It’s been set free, and my characters are real, and a source of comfort to me in that difficult time.
On the canvas I’m working on, there’s a ‘pin-up’ of a scantily clad young woman in high heels. She’s sitting on the closed lid of a toilet, kicking out a leg with a calliper. This ties in with those feelings I had as a young lad, trying to deal with both my disability and the onset of puberty. It was such a complete mystery to me, as it was happening to a body which I couldn’t feel or experience.
This is the end of the last stop of the audio guide. You are now close to the main entrance where we started. Please note that this is also an exit, so there will be visitors moving in both directions. You are of course free to stay and explore. There is an alternative exit via the lobby in the corner, which takes you down a spiral staircase. In the lobby there is a filmed interview with Jason and replicas of his sketchbooks which can be touched.