Planographic Print Runner Up 2026

Martha Zmpounou

Man in Yellow Suit

Jackson's Art Prize 2026
Watercolour, Monoprint
Paper
55 x 75 cm

£1,200

“Through an autobiographical lens, my practice explores themes of reverie, loss, memory, and belonging. My recent work focuses on the dynamics of human relationships, exploring nuances of emotions and the transition from visceral to cerebral. I aim to depict intimate moments of warmth and tenderness while subtly revealing the underlying tensions and shared memories embedded in everyday social interactions. The works capture fleeting scenes of play, intimacy, and pause—moments of people gathering within re-imagined, often heightened landscapes or domestic interiors. Human figures appear as layered, multifaceted fragments in time. Whether sleeping, dreaming, or engaged in conversation, they inhabit environments that blur reality, memory, and imagination. These settings—both domestic and expansive—are invented spaces that act as stages for revisiting memories and exploring emotions such as nostalgia, trust and calm ,and empowerment, belonging, and connection. Working from memory, personal archives, art-historical references, and found imagery, I develop the works through layered watercolour monoprinting.”