What is Installation Art?


What is installation art? As an artist I love creating installation art and studying other installation artists. Learn more about what is art installation by reading more in this blog post below. 



What is Art Installation?


Installation art emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as part of broader movements that rejected traditional art forms and sought to break the boundaries between art and life. Artists began to explore different ways to engage with the viewer. 



Some early pioneers of installation art include:

  • Marcel Duchamp: His "readymades" in the early 20th century, such as "Fountain" (1917), laid the foundation for questioning what art could be.

  • Yayoi Kusama: Her immersive "Infinity Mirror Rooms" installations began in the 1960s and are still highly influential today.

  • Allan Kaprow: Known for his "Happenings" in the late 1950s and 1960s, which blurred the line between art and performance, and were a precursor to installation art.

Today, it remains a popular and innovative form of artistic practice, often seen in galleries, museums, and public spaces around the world.




Art Installation


Art installation allows the viewer to appreciate and notice the space of where the art is being installed. Art installation can also relate to site specific art. Site-specific art is where artwork is installed in a particular site that best suits the artwork. The art is made for the site in which it is installed. 




Here are some examples of my site-specific artwork below:

In my patched art installation, I install handmade map paper on areas of trees and branches, where the bark has naturally peeled away. 


I start by finding the tree which is the site and then I install the handmade map paper pulp to best fit that particular site. 

Another example of art installation that is site-specific is my artwork called the treehouse series. In this series of artwork, similar to my patched art series, I find a tree that has a woodpecker hole, and then I insert a small, brown hand paper, made house and take a photograph. I have different size houses, that best suits the particular size of the woodpecker hole that I find. This installation art is site-specific as well. 




Installation Artists 

Here is a list of different artists that use installation in their work. 


Yayoi Kusama – Famous for her "Infinity Mirror Rooms" and use of polka dots and mirrors.

Ai Weiwei – Combines political activism with large-scale installations, like "Sunflower Seeds."

Olafur Eliasson – Known for his use of natural elements, such as light and water, in installations like "The Weather Project."

Christo and Jeanne-Claude – Created monumental outdoor installations by wrapping buildings and landscapes.

Marina Abramović – Pioneer of performance and installation art, focusing on the body and endurance.

James Turrell – Creates immersive light installations that manipulate perception, such as "Skyspaces."

Bruce Nauman – Known for installations involving neon lights, sound, and body performance.

Kara Walker – Uses large-scale installations like "A Subtlety" to address themes of race and history.

Anish Kapoor – Renowned for large installations like "Cloud Gate" (The Bean) and his exploration of voids and space.

Jenny Holzer – Integrates text and light in public spaces, creating thought-provoking installations.

Do Ho Suh – Explores themes of home and displacement with fabric-based architectural installations.

Mike Nelson – Known for immersive, narrative-driven installations that often recreate entire rooms or environments.




If you would like to see more of my installation, art click the button below to view more of my artwork. 



I would love for you to connect with me on social media. You can click on one of the icons below to follow me and connect with me. I would love to hear from you.

Art Competition London



My art is featured in an art competition London, Ontario at the Kellogg Factory. The art competition takes place at an art gallery London, Ontario at 100 Kellogg Lane. The Art Competition London selected 100 artists to include 100 artworks. The exhibition lasts for 100 days and ends on September 8, 2022. 

Voting closes for the Art Competition London on September 4, 2022. There are two $100 000 prizes one is for people’s choice where you can vote for your favourite artwork and the other is for juror’s choice where the jury will select their favourite artwork. 

map paper installation by Jackie Partridge

100 Kellogg Lane is a transformed space it used to be the old Kellogg Factory. Now it is a communal hub in London, Ontario that has a brewery, indoor climbing centre, art gallery, Starbucks, icecream, hairdressers and more! 


See the Art Competition London This Summer 2022

Click this link to see where different pieces are located: https://100kellogglane.com/uploads/2022/05/cid57AA9844-8638-4CD6-9456-AEF560EF4750.pdf 



With each email address you have that counts as a vote! Please share this voting link with your friends and family to help me win! 

Vote here: https://artcomp.awardsplatform.com 



How to Vote

You can vote by registering an account you need to add in your name and email and create a password. Follow the instructions of the password -it needs to be 12 characters, have an uppercase, a number and a special symbol like an !.

Once you receive an email you can click on the link and you will have to sign into the account you made. Next find my artwork “Precariously Perched.” Make sure to hit the vote button. It will say voted when you are done!

Thank you for voting!



What am I showing in the Art Competition London?

I am showing a piece called Precariously Perched. This piece is a large site-specific installation that features many twisted strands of map paper balancing on tiny pins that come out from the wall. The piece is about fragility and the passage of time. Some pieces of map paper rest on the ground with empty pins on the wall signaling the passage of time. You can read more about this project here.

Precariously Perched map paper installation by Jackie Partridge

Precariously Perched - Photo taken by Scott Lee

Make sure to Vote for the Art Competition London! 

You can vote for your favourite artwork here: 

https://artcomp.awardsplatform.com


What would I do if I won the Art Competition London? 

It would be a great honour to have my art recognized. Often as an artist you are not paid properly and it’s hard to make a consistent income with your art alone. I would use some of that money to invest into my business so I could be an artist full time! I would use some money to buy a house and of course to make sure it has a studio. Lastly, I would use the money to produce more free content like YouTube videos on my painting channel and other free resources on my website! 5% of the money I would donate to help the environment. 

Precariously Perched, twisted maps on a pin by Jackie Partridge


Again, please share this voting link with your friends and family to help me win! 

https://artcomp.awardsplatform.com 


Thank you for sharing the voting platform and for voting for my art in the Art Competition London for my work Precariously Perched. It really means a lot! 




Related Articles: 

Vote for my art in the competition here!

Check out 100 Kellogg Lane

See my other art installations

Learn more about Precariously Perched!







Fields -Mirror Installation by Jackie Partridge

Fields is made from colourful sewn thread and flax handmade paper. It measures 18’x 3.5.’ I made this work in 2015 while completing my MFA at Concordia university in Montreal, QC. 

I created this artwork by sewing on a dissolvable fabric and layering different colours of thread. Sometimes, I would have a different colour in the bobbin and a different colour in the tread. I sewed in a back and forth manner to resemble the repetitive motion of planting and harvesting crops in fields. After sewing, I dissolved the fabric and took the pieces to the paper making studio where I squeezed flax pulp through a tube in patches of the sewing. Once I was done applying the pulp I put the artwork through the paper press to squeeze out excess water as part of the paper making process. Then I let the artwork dry flat; it took about 24 hours to dry. There are about 10 separate panels of this artwork in total. 

The pieces of this art installation are quite delicate and fragile. I suspended them with thread that tied onto the individual pieces. 

Usually this installation is hung against the wall but in this installation from 2017, I got to hang this textile artwork in front of the mirror. I loved how the thread was reflected and looked like a long continuous line drawing. When the artwork hangs against the wall it does create some really beautiful shadows.I would love to add to this piece and make it larger in the future. 

You can see the original installation of this piece - here!

Jackie Partridge and Fields thread with handmade paper installation
Detail of Fields installation

Detail of Fields installation

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Conceal - Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

Conceal is a project that was inspired my a previous work Trapped this work is from 2017 by artist Jackie Partridge.  In the installation below I use the same hand dyed and hand embroidered dishcloth quilt from Trapped. The dishcloth quilt is made to resemble an aerial view of farmlands. Farming runs in my family as both sets of grandparents and great-grandparents owned farms. I grew up in Wellesley, Ontario, a small town surrounded by farmlands. I watched the land over time develop into subdivision after subdivision. This artwork became symbolic for concealing or covering, protecting and hiding the land. The dishcloths are dyed with inks and acrylic fluids with bright colours of greens, browns, yellows, oranges and pinks to represent the colours and beauty of farm fields. I really wanted to highlight the beauty and vibrancy of the landscape.

I am interested in quilts and fibre art because when I grew up I had 8 grandmothers including great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers. So the craft of embroidery and sewing are very important to my family heritage. 

With my art practice I often reuse elements and photograph different artwork outside to change and transform the context of the work itself. I see my art evolving and transforming through time similar to how the landscape is in a constant state of change.

This quilt inspired artwork is draped over rocks at my grandmother’s house in Kinmount, ON. Their property is a special place where I enjoy spending my summer. I find being in nature to be a very inspiring place for my work and me as an artist. Photographed by me in summer 2017.

I see the quilt as a symbol of protection, warmth and comfort. Like most quilts are. 

You can see my current art practice here!

Shop for handmade art -here

Follow me on social media @jackiepartridge_ to see current artwork and to hear about upcoming art exhibitions. 

Conceal by Jackie Partridge
textile artwork outdoor installation by Jackie Partridge

To see my current artwork >>connect with me on social media - click on one of the icons below!

Sediment -Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

Sediment art installation by Jackie Partridge was started in 2017. I started paper making in 2015 where I was working as a teaching assistant in a paper making class during my MFA. See some behind the scenes look at a current project and learn about the process of paper making below!

Sediment is an ongoing art installation since 2017 where I form sheets of handmade paper with blue jeans from my grandfather. Currently there are about 300 pieces of handmade paper.

Sediment art installation with blue denim handmade paper by Jackie Partridge

My grandfather is a retired farmer who sold the family owned century farm in 2012.

The paper acts as a memory and are stacked on the floor like waves in the water.

This piece is inspired by the artwork Remnants that also used old farming clothes belonging to my grandfather.

Learn how to make paper out of denim here! This explains the process for making this artwork.

Sediment art installation by Jackie Partridge made of 300 sheets of handmade denim paper

In order to make the denim paper the blue jeans must be collected rinsed with water and cut into tiny 1”x1” squares. After the squares are cut they are put into a beater that grinds the natural fibres into tiny blue threads.

The paper making process- denim pulp

The paper making process- denim pulp

After the pulp is beaten down to tiny threads (taking around 4 hours or longer) The pulp is added into a vat of water and a mould and deckle are used to create sheets of paper.

This is the mould and deckle used to create the circle sheets of paper

This is the mould and deckle used to create the circle sheets of paper

Marbled Denim Paper
CA$28.00

I invite you to take a look at the handmade paper I sell in my shop. Check out my beautiful handmade paper art here!

Don’t forget to enter your email at the bottom of the post to save 15% off artwork!

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Pocket Full of Sunshine
CA$90.00

Trapped -Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

Trapped is an art installation from 2016 by Jackie Partridge that I completed during my MFA. In this installation I hand dyed and hand embroidered dishcloths and sewed them together as a large quilt. I want the quilt to be seen as an aerial view of farmlands. 

Above the quilt drapes a large sewn thread installation -made from white thread. The sewn piece is stitched on a dissolvable surface. The sewn structure mimics that shape of my hometown as viewed from a map and inside the shape are rows and rows of a basic symbol of a house shape. 

To see my current art - click here!

View the art project Conceal- inspired by this piece!

Trapped textile art installation with hand dyed and hand embroidered dish cloths with suspending sewn net by Jackie Partridge
Detail of sewn net, part of Trapped installation by Jackie Partridge

Detail of sewn net, part of Trapped installation by Jackie Partridge

You can view my current art by following me on social media. Click any of the icons below!

A Needle in a Haystack - Textile Art Installation by Jackie Partridge

A Needle in a Haystack by Jackie Partridge

wall piece: 4.5'x 4 floor piece 3.3'x 3', found fabric, sewing, 2015-2016

Braided strips of found fabric create an abstracted hay bale referencing the traditional rag rug. The two hay bales are attached together with a long braid like umbilical cord connecting generations.  This textile artwork was created by Jackie Partridge in 2015-2016 while I was completing my MFA at Concordia University.

This artwork is inspired by my family heritage of farming and my matriarchal line. Both of my grandparents were farmers and my mom’s parents owned a family century owned farm.

Growing up, I had 8 grandmothers including great-grandmothers and great-great grandmothers. My matriarchal line was very skilled in sewing, embroidery, knitting and crochet which really inspired me to pursue textile art and study it during my MFA.

This is a piece of past artwork from the archive. To see my current artwork - click here!

Jackie Partridge art installation with sewn fabric fibre art
Jackie Partridge  Art, A Needle in a Haystack textile sewn fabric art installation
Needle in a haystack sewn textile art by Jackie Partridge

To see my current work follow me on social media -click any of the icons below!

Birds Adapted: for Flight or Fancy - Juried Exhibition 2019

For the fall,  I will be participating in a group art exhibition curated by Teresa Seaton at the Teresa Seaton Gallery in Burlington, Ontario. You can see the details of the exhibition as well as my art in the exhibition’s catalogue below. See artwork from myself - Jackie Partridge and other local artists

Birds Adapted: for Flight or Fancy is a juried exhibition I am a part of that is at the Teresa Seaton Gallery in Burlington, ON from Aug. 14-Oct. 26, 2019.

Here is a page about my installation Nestled that was a part of the group exhibition catalogue.

In this exhibition I am displaying my installation Nestled made from twisted map paper to resemble a nest or a home. I have exhibited Nestled before on the floor. This will be the first time exhibiting Nestled up high. I was excited to present the artwork this way because I think it will look more like a nest. This piece is very textured as strands of twisted map paper interweave together. What I like about this piece is that it can transform depending where it is installed. I can keep twisting map paper and add to the size of this artwork. I will have some pieces of map paper on the floor as well to invite viewers to look up. This installation is also related to the installation Precariously Perched where I have strands of twisted maps that balance on tiny pins and nails, resting in a fragile state against the wall. 

In my art practice, I love working with the same materials and reworking them to make new art installations. 

To learn more about this project you can take a look at it here!


To see current artwork - click here!

Juried Exhibition with Jackie Partridge

Here is a page about my installation Nestled that was a part of the group exhibition catalogue.

To check out my other artwork -click here!

Juried exhibition with Jackie Partridge. Artwork Nestled in the exhibition catalogue.

Follow me on social media by clicking one of the icons below to stay connected and learn about future art exhibitions and art news! If you see my art at exhibitions please use the hashtag #jackiepartridge so I can see it too.