Nicola Tyson: Their Jumpers
The British artist’s work reimagines bodily experience with figures that are highly animated, androgynous, surreal and inflected with a touch of humour.
Nicola Tyson describes her style as psycho-figuration, where depictions of bodies, wildlife and nature are informed as much by notions of identity, gender and sexuality as they are by the deeper recesses of the unconscious.
In Their Jumpers, two figures stand against a yellow brick wall. They appear to be engaging in a dance or striking a pose – or perhaps something more unsettling is taking place and their arms are raised in surrender.
We are never quite certain of the narratives unfolding in Nicola Tyson’s artworks. Her characters revel in ambiguity, challenging our expectations of what bodies are, what they can do, and how they can be represented.
In this artwork, an ultramarine blue colour wash is left visible in the characters’ facial features and in gaps left between the strokes of paint made in the artist’s signature dry-brush technique.
Born in London in 1960 and residing in New York since 1989, Tyson is primarily known as a painter, while also working with photography, film, performance and the written word.
For your visit
This event is held at the Hayward Gallery Southbank Centre
Tuesday – Thursday, 10am – 6pm
Friday, 10am – 9pm
Saturday, 10am – 8pm
Sunday, 10am – 6pm
Closed Mondays
Plan your visit
The Hayward Gallery is also where you’ll find the HENI Project Space.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
Cloakroom
We have a cloakroom for coats, umbrellas and small bags; it costs £2 per item.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Exhibition tours
Guided tours of our Hayward Gallery exhibitions are available to ticket holders; the dates and times of these can be found when you click through to book your exhibition tickets.
If you’d like to arrange a private/group tour of an exhibition, please contact us. The Hayward Gallery does not accept external tour guides or tour groups – all exhibition tours must be arranged through the Southbank Centre.
Food & drink
Offering sandwiches, salads, cakes and coffee, Hayward Gallery Cafe is the perfect spot for a pre-exhibition energy boost or a post-visit drink.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.