Discourse as an Act of Care in Jade Montserrat’s Practice
Every work that Jade Montserrat gives the world draws its viewers into a rich discussion on themes of care. Whether it be how mental health care is influenced by structural racism in ‘Constellations: Care & Resistance’, or how ‘Peat’ reflects on how the British Landscape has been shaped by oppression and privilege, Montserrat’s work is exclusively concerned with the practice, lack, or abuse, of everything that we frame with the term ‘care’. But to home in on just one theme from one work, series, or exhibition, as a vehicle to explore notions of care for this piece, is to overlook the importance of care to why Monsterrat has an artistic practice.
Fig.1. Seeing herself through the eyes of others (2017)
The reason is simple. Montserrat’s creative discourse is, in itself, a very profound act of care. It creates spaces where marginalised voices are honoured, and collective healing becomes possible. Her artistic practice reveals the hidden, the avoided, the painful, the oppressed, the marginalised. But then, it creates spaces where conversation and critical dialogue around those themes offer opportunity for mutual support, recognition and transformation.
To demonstrate.
In her ‘No Need for Clothing’ performances and drawings, Montserrat literally embodied discourse through the gestural act of inscribing words directly onto the walls of the gallery. Theoretical concepts become embodied experience. The Black female body enters into an intimate dialogue with historically exclusionist narratives. “Material blackness carved into the wall of the institution” (Montserrat, 2023 cited in Glasper, 2023). This performance of vulnerability invites the audience into careful witnessing rather than passive consumption.
The collaborative workshops and performances of ‘Rainbow Tribe’, centred around Black feminist thought, fostered networks of support, allowing participants to share experiences of racial discrimination and collectively imagined alternatives. Attending to participant needs and perspectives exemplified the power of discourse as a vehicle for caregiving.
Fig.2. Shadow Revue: Ecclesiastes (2017)
And…Montserrat’s work in 2020’s “Constellations: Care and Resistance” at Bethlem Gallery. A response to her experiences of being sectioned. The artist wanted the audience to understand how mental health care differs for people of colour, “how structural racism determines black life and the disproportionate use of the mental health act to police black people.” (Montserrat, 2020) Again, the audience was encouraged into careful witnessing.
The collaborative nature of much of Montserrat’s practice further underscores how her discourse itself serves as care. By exposing her own vulnerability, engaging with audiences, communities and other artists through conversation and collaboration, her practice demonstrates dialogue as a tender, attentive practice and reveals how art’s discursive dimensions can be used to create awareness and nurture wellbeing.
Research Notes
List of References
Gill, N., Montserrat, J. (2021) Inside/ Outside At: https://bethlemgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Inside_Outside_NikitaGill_JadeMontserrat-1.pdf (Accessed 15/03/25)
Glasper, D.J., (2023) Janyce Denise Glasper Interviews Jade de Montserrat At: https://decoratingdissidence.com/2023/04/07/janyce-denise-glasper-interviews-jade-montserrat/ (Accessed 20/03/25)
Bibliography
Cevernak, S.J., (2019) With: Jade Montserrat’s Peat At: https://asapjournal.com/feature/with-jade-montserrats-peat-sarah-jane-cervenak/ (Accessed 16/03/25)
De Wachter, E.M. (2021) ‘Jade Montserrat’ In: Morrill, R. et al. VItamin D3. Today’s Best in Contemporary Drawing. London: Phaidon. pp.160-161
Gill, N., Montserrat, J. (2021) Inside/ Outside At: https://bethlemgallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Inside_Outside_NikitaGill_JadeMontserrat-1.pdf (Accessed 15/03/25)
Glasper, D.J., (2023) Janyce Denise Glasper Interviews Jade de Montserrat At: https://decoratingdissidence.com/2023/04/07/janyce-denise-glasper-interviews-jade-montserrat/ (Accessed 20/03/25)
Phaidon (2021) Jade Montserrat – Why I Draw At: https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2021/january/21/jade-montserrat-why-i-draw/ (Accessed 15/03/25)
Ruiz, C (2021) Meet Jade Montserrat, the Black artist who took on the British art establishment At: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/05/27/meet-jade-montserrat-the-black-artist-who-took-on-the-british-art-establishment (Accessed 15/03/25)
Ruiz, C (2021) Black Obsidian Sound System: ‘Thanks for the Turner Prize nomination, here are our terms’ At: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/05/11/black-obsidian-sound-system-thanks-for-the-turner-prize-nomination-here-are-our-terms (Accessed 15/03/25)
Steer, E (2022)
Jade Montserrat: The Gutai Collective Taught Me How to Connect to My Materials At: https://elephant.art/jade-montserrat-the-gutai-collective-taught-me-how-to-be-intimately-connected-to-my-materials-15072022/ (Accessed 16/03/25)
Williams, G (2020) Jade Montserrat: Stuart Hall Library, Inviva At: https://www.artforum.com/events/jade-montserrat-246932/ (Accessed 20/03/25)
List of Illustrations
Fig.1. Montserrat, J (2017) Seeing herself through the eyes of others [Watercolour, pencil (mixed media), crayon, gouache,] In: Gill, M. & Montserrat, J., (2020) Inside/ Out. London: Bethlem Gallery
Fig.2. Montserrat, J (2017) Shadow Revue: Ecclesiastes [watercolour, gouache, ink, and pen on paper,] In: Gill, M. & Montserrat, J., (2020) Inside/ Out. London: Bethlem Gallery