To mark the Pecking House residency at Double Standard, Margate based artist Jack Hirons has installed a new series of paintings throughout the restaurant. On the surface, the subject matter feels playful—chickens rendered in bold oil paint—but a closer look reveals something darker, and more complex.
Each work is made using pigment that Hirons creates himself by charring and grinding leftover chicken bones into a fine powder, which he then transforms into paint. The process is both visceral and poetic: the chicken becomes its own image, the medium inseparable from the subject.
The works selected for this installation often depict American politicians eating fried chicken. Sourced from archival news photographs and film stills, the images are satirical and absurd, yet also deeply critical—pointing to the intersections of power, consumption, and cultural symbolism.
The result is an installation that feels uniquely tied to the moment: a dialogue between food and art, politics and pleasure, material and meaning. Titles and further details on each painting can be found in the table below.
Hirons’ wider practice consistently explores these kinds of loops—matter transformed into images of itself, subjects rendered through their own remains. His work sits at the edge of humour and philosophy, play and critique, raising questions about how we consume, what we value, and the stories materials can tell. He is currently the recipient of the Tracey Emin Foundation Fellowship 2025.
We sat down with Jack to catch up, see below for a fun, not so serious Q+A.
Q: If one of your paintings could have its own soundtrack, what song would it play on loop — and why?
A: I would probably pair A Variation On Sadness (After Magritte) 2023 with The Fast Food Song by The Fast Food Rockers.
Q: 3 'must do's' for a day out in Margate for someone who's never been.
A: The Crab Museum. You have to engage with them at the desk though as they will have you doubled over in laughter whilst totally expanding your perspective on the world, via crab facts. Swim in Walpole tidal pool and just generally soak up the atmosphere down there on a sunny evening. Walk along the beaches to Captain Digby for a pint.
Q: If you had to explain Margate to someone by showing them a single artwork (yours or someone else’s), which piece would you choose?
A: Thomas Cole, The Course of Empire. I think all 5 of the paintings in that series amalgamate to something like the many experiences you can have in Margate.
Q: Your paintings feel like they’re part of a secret language. If you were to start a secret society of artists, what would the initiation ritual look like?
A: I would absolutely love to start a secret society. I think the initiation would be something like you would need to make a pie and bring it to the society and the board members would decide if it’s good enough for you to stay on.
Q: If your work were a movie genre — thriller, rom-com, sci-fi — what would it be, and who would direct it?
A: I think it would have to be a psychological thriller set in science fiction with an element of comedy, because my work is rooted in the some deep thinking with existential thoughts but often uses humour as a front. Would probably let Nicolas Winding Refn have a pop at it.
Q: What’s a trend in contemporary art you secretly enjoy but would never let influence your practice (at least not openly)?
A: I like the aesthetic of airbrush paintings but there’s so many people doing bad ones with no substance it completely ruins the whole thing.
Q: If someone walked into your studio tomorrow with £1 million but said you couldn’t spend it on painting, what creative project would you start instead?
A: Easy, I have a video game locked and loaded, ready to go. Would use the money to get some people that know what they are doing in that sector to get on board with the project.
Q: You can invite three historical figures into your studio for a drink. Who are they, and what are you pouring?
A: I’d actually invite both of my grandads as I never met either of them, so I’d love to see what wisdom they had and to hear their stories. Then for an art one maybe Dali, be good to get some notes from him. Would keep it casual, get some beers in.
Make a day of it, see the paintings yourself and try Pecking House fried chicken before it's gone on September 14.
