On a bright spring afternoon, we crossed the river into Hampton to catch up with architect and ceramicist, Jane O’Connor at the studio she shares with business partner and husband, Andy Jackson. It was an inspiring conversation about creativity, connections and colour. And I came away with a jar of chutney…
Words | Kim Craig
Our first visit to the Jackson O’Connor Architecture Studio and Gallery was in 2021, for their opening. Struck by the clean lines, cool, minimal décor we have returned since for the regular Open Days and freshly curated displays of ceramics and art.
Jane’s architecture journey began in St Helens, Lancashire where she graduated from Hull School of Architecture. Her move to London in 1996 kicked-off her career with work for theatres, where her passion for another aspect of building design – the interior – was ignited: “It’s much faster paced, you can see your rewards sooner, and with an architect’s perspective you can push it much further.” She has worked on large corporate architecture and interior projects in London and Russia, whilst starting a family.
Jane O’Connor is a Director of JOA, along with Andy. Their private practice was established in 2018 a couple of years after a move from north London to Hampton. Missing green space was a decisive factor in the move away from the city, and their home now backs onto Bushy Park. It’s a space that Jane loves, walking back through the park after lunch.
Having sustained a personal injury, she took some time out to recover, with architecture taking a back seat for a time. Later, and with tentative steps back into theatre work, she established the Jackson O’Connor practice. Having started at the dining table, the realisation that they could work together in the same room then determined a search, with Andy, for the right work space. The building that now houses the studio and gallery is in the Hampton conservation area and was previously a printers, a post-office and an ironmongers.
Jane’s interest in ceramics is long-standing, despite having had limited experience and access to it at school. She had nagged a secondary school art teacher for some clay and a kiln – “he indulged me!” Later, she found a class that suited her “crazy architect hours” at Richmond College, and during lockdown, one of her creations was locked in, forcing the purchase of her own wheel and kiln. Her initial idea to sell some of her work, and that of others just evolved, resulting in the opening of the dedicated gallery space.
The vision of the gallery is to retain a very strong design and architectural bias, as Jane explains, “to show work that sits well in the buildings that we design.” The gallery is a source for other architects, interior designers and stylists in fashion, with pieces supplied to luxury London hotels. Gallery collaborators include other architects, graphic designers, and local artists, with work that Jane has sourced via art events and social media.
Connections from the past brought a recent solo exhibition to the gallery, of work by comedian Johnny Vegas, who is also from St Helens and a ceramics graduate. Visitors included Ruby Wax and her
husband Ed Bye, and a Channel 4 production team. It’s all part of a journey and initiative by Johnny to bring accessible, public art to St Helens, with a TV series in the pipeline.
Jane’s personal ceramic work is a response to memories of childhood and visits to potteries with an aunt, a curiosity for nature and a passion for colour. Combined with the architectural influence, the resulting hand-built and thrown pieces hark back to the 70s and the modernist movement, with clean lines and pops of colour. “Emotions feed into what I do, and you lose yourself in the process.
It’s really freeing, not being constrained by a brief, and so I’m a bit more free-form with my ceramics.” She is currently working on a large plant pot design, inspired by some 1960s bathroom tiles at home, and scrolling through photo references on her phone to show me, it’s all ceramics, “You can tell where my heart is – pots!” says Jane, laughing.
There’s definitely a creative heart in Hampton, and long may it beat.
Gallery Open Days 2024
1-5pm Sunday 24th November
1-5pm Sunday 8th December
1-5pm Sunday 15th December
Jackson O’Connor Architecture
9 – 11 High Street, Hampton TW12 2SA
Follow on Instagram @jacksonoconnorarch
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