Who is Isaac Heard?
Isaac Heard is a South London-based visual artist known for charcoal drawing, etching, printmaking and narrative image-making.
About
South London visual artist working through charcoal, etching and narrative image-making.
Isaac Heard is a South London-based visual artist working across charcoal drawing, etching, printmaking, comics and moving image. His narrative image-making explores climate catastrophe, environmental decline and speculative ways of imagining sustainable futures.
- Practice
- Charcoal drawing, etching, printmaking, comics and moving image
- Themes
- Visual storytelling, environmental futures, myth, film, comics and games
- Based
- South London
- Born
- 1995, Croydon
- Teaching
- Young Artists programme tutor and technician, The Royal Drawing School
Biography
Born in Croydon in 1995, Heard studied Fine Art at Lancaster University and The Glasgow School of Art before completing The Drawing Year at the Royal Drawing School in 2024. He works with the Royal Drawing School's Young Artists programme as a tutor and technician.
His work draws on film, comics, video games and direct observation. Traditional media become ways of staging unstable landscapes, ambiguous spaces and non-linear stories shaped by environmental anxiety, memory and contemporary image culture.
For his Royal Drawing School final project, Heard made large-scale charcoal drawings retelling Noah's Ark in a contemporary context. He continues to develop etching and book works alongside drawing, testing scale, repetition, mark-making and narrative sequence.
Career highlights
Education
2023-2024
- The Drawing Year, The Royal Drawing School
2021-2022
- MLitt Fine Art Practice, Distinction, The Glasgow School of Art
2016-2019
- BA (Hons) Fine Art, First Class Honours, Lancaster University
2017-2018
- Study abroad year, University of Colorado Boulder
2013-2014
- Art and Design Foundation Diploma, University for the Creative Arts
Selected exhibitions
2026
- Drawn Together, The Royal Drawing School, London
2025
- Look At This If You Love Me, SET Lewisham, London
- Small But Mighty, Bankside Gallery, London
- The Tetra Pak Show, Torriano Meeting House, London
- Lingering Feelings, Sett Studios, Edinburgh
- Spring Show, Peggy's Gallery, Dublin
- Works on Paper 7, Blue Shop Gallery, London
2024
- The Best of The Drawing Year, Christie's, London
- Drawing Year 2024 Studio Show, Space Studios, London
- The Drawing Year 2024 End of Year Exhibition, The Royal Drawing School, London
- Fierce Scandal, Lido Stores, Margate
2023
- Radiophrenia, Glasgow
- Welcome Back, Project Room, Glasgow
2022
- Postgraduate GSA Degree Show, Stow Building, Glasgow
- Strewn Taboos, Barnes Building, Glasgow
2021
- Early Days, Barnes Building, Glasgow
- Chance 4 Charlie, In Transit
2019
- Coordinate, Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster
- Teddy Bear's Picnic, Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster
- Action for Hunger, Lancaster
2018
- Leeds University Climate Conference, Leeds University
Publications
2024
- The Good Hunter's Guide To A Bad Night
2023
- Faded Angel
- Eunoia Review
- 86 Logic, shortlisted
Competitions, funding and collections
2025
- Jackson's Art Prize, Longlist
- Science Meets Art, Imperial College Commission, Final Shortlist
2024
- Full Scholarship, The Drawing Year
2016
- Academic Scholarship to study Fine Art at Lancaster University
Collections
- The Royal Collection
Frequently asked questions
What does Isaac Heard's work explore?
His work explores visual storytelling, climate catastrophe, environmental decline, sustainable futures and non-linear narrative.
What materials does Isaac Heard use?
Heard works with charcoal, etching, aquatint, printmaking, comics, book forms, moving image and animation.