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A former Winchester resident is celebrating Pride Month with his art displayed in Northampton Center for the Arts and the Becket Arts Center in the Berkshires. Jacob Clayon grew up on Fletcher Street before moving to the Pioneer Valley.
“I started doing art about five or six years ago,” Clayton says. “I was feeling stress in my life and then COVID exacerbated it. I’d lived 20 years of stealth and I realized that was having an effect on my mental health.”
Winchester native Jacob Clayton has had an exciting summer, with two of his works being shown in exhibits in Western Mass. COURTESY PHOTOS/JACOB CLAYTON
The stealth Clayton mentions was because he’d grown up as Jessica Clayton (Winchester High School Class of 1989), and his transition wasn’t easy.
“I went to a therapist who happened to also be an arts therapist, and I started doing photography, including film. I’m a nature lover and an animal lover. I foster older pets,” he says. “Most of my art is from the same portfolio I’ve been working on for a while. I like to make art that’s ‘strange.’ For instance, I portray myself as the Marlboro Man or Superman. Those portraits allow me to see myself as I wanted to be — and to be able to do what’s truly liberating.”
Clayton says his art helps raise critical awareness and social justice around the topic of LBGTQ+ Pride.
“A lot of people are scared,” he points out. “It’s why I want to reach out. This is a weird time. When I started my transition, I had access to the Fenway Community Health Center, although nothing was covered by insurance. And now there are a lot of diverse gender expressions.
“My video ‘Faces I’ve Seen’ was part of the San Francisco 2021 Film Festival,” he says. “It’s important for folks to know that as trans people, we should tell our own stories and talk about our own experiences (because sometimes non-trans people are documenting us).
“Our diverse cultures are so invisible,” he adds. “There are no trans artists in museums. I’d like my art to help call us out of the shadows.”
Clayton is pleased to point out that two of his works were included in the Griffin Museum’s members exhibits.
He recently held two shows: “We Contain Multitudes: A Curated Collective of 2SLGBTQIA+ and BIPOC Creatives’ Voices” in Northampton and Berkshire LGBTQ+ Pride Art Exhibit: “Amplifying Queer Creativity,” which is now running through July 5.
“I’ll be showing three mixed-media self-portraits from my ongoing series ‘Deprivation of Self, Portraits,’” he says. “My practice uses photography, video, and mixed media to expand the vocabulary around gender identity and expression, chronicle recovery from complex trauma, and assert that transgender lives are worthy of dignity, visibility, and love. In 2026, that’s a radical act.”
‘Deprivation of Self, Portraits’ is an ongoing work by Winchester native Jacob Clayton. COURTESY PHOTOS/JACOB CLAYTON
Clayton will also be showing “four mixed-media photo-based self-portraits alongside the East Coast premiere of my short film, ‘The Clayton Effect,’ an Official Selection of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival.”
You can see more of Clayton’s artwork here. Check out his website here.
Winchester resident Joyce Westner is one of the founders of Winchester News. She holds a degree in English and journalism from Northeastern University. If you have a suggestion for either a Meet the Artist or Helpers Among Us resident, email editor@winchesternews.org.
