McLean Jackson is an Australian artist and filmmaker working across painting, screenwriting, and film. His practice is driven by an interest in narrative, atmosphere, and allegory. Through painting and moving image, Jackson explores the intersection of personal experience and broader philosophical themes, creating works that invite reflection on contemporary life and the human condition.
Jackson works primarily through abstraction, employing geometric forms, architectural motifs, and carefully structured spatial relationships to explore systems of meaning, communication, and power. His work focuses on compositions that function as both formal arrangements and symbolic landscapes. Recurring elements include intersecting planes, linear frameworks, signal-like markings, and fragments of text, suggesting speculative structures or the remnants of imagined civilisations.
In addition to his visual art practice, Jackson has written, directed, and produced a body of independent short films, including Don’t Be a Juicehead (2016), The Final Foray (2018), Harmonia (2021), and The Extortionist, or the Revelatory Admissions of a High-Rise Loser (2022). His films range from character-driven drama and satire to speculative and philosophical narratives. He is also the creator of the forthcoming short film Immortal Lottery.