The Art of Jem Ham

Year: 2022

Identity Crisis

Surreal painting of face with large eyeball, screaming head and fingers sticking through cracks

Identity Crisis 2023 Acrylic on linen 123 x 97.5 x 3.2 cm48 x 38 x 1.6 in     Breaking out of a strong religious upbringing in my early twenties forced me to re-evaluate my entire world view. My sense of self felt like Humpty Dumpty after his fall. It took years to sort out […]

Manfuego in the Land of ID

Black and white etching on clayboard of surrealist figure with sorrowful fish and rain and clouds.

Manfuego in the land of Id 2022 Acrylic and drypoint on clayboard 45.6 x 61 x 4 cm18 x 24 x 1.6 in This is Id, the primal land of my psyche. Flamboyantly tall, Manfuego (fire man) stands among the forlorn fish gulping down sorrows. He represents my primitive impulses and psychic energy. Exhibited at Metamorphosis […]

Unfocused

Surrealist painting of an imaginary creature with lots of arms walking through a desert landscape of craters

Unfocused 2022 Acrylic on linen 122 x 96.5 x 3.2 cm 48 x 38 x 1.25 in   Focus seems like a rare state of mind in the age of noise. Navigating through the minefield of information sinkholes and the cacophony of ever-spinning thoughts, my head is bursting at the seams. My limbs flail about, […]