Marli Jessop is only 18, but she knows how to overcome obstacles – quite literally, in fact! After all, she’s a professional hurdler with a string of championships and records under her belt.
Due to this nobody should have doubted that she wouldn’t allow anything to stand in the way of her current dream, which is to have her art displayed in a gallery. She achieves this now as her art goes on display at The Art of the Athlete at Zari Gallery in London.
“I’m so excited to exhibit my work,” says Marli. “It’s all that I’ve wanted to do since taking my paintings to the next level and it’s every artist’s dream to get their work showcased in a gallery.”
It’s a big moment for Marli, whose signature style is painted portraits of people who she admires. You’ll find the likes of musicians and athletes depicted in her work, including idols such as Olympian Sally Pearson. As a young woman of colour, she also likes to celebrate her culture and ethnicity through her work – especially since Black Lives Matter.
The teen explains: “I think it’s important that I have a role to play with the talent that I’ve been given. It’s not only just to paint but to make statements on the world that we live in.”
Raised in Hertfordshire, Marli was once a promising ballerina. She ultimately decided that she was better suited to athletics, in the process beginning the career that we see her excelling in today. She won the English Schools’ Championships in 2019 and even boasts a better record than gold medallist Jessica Ennis did in the came category at her age.
Yes, Marli is getting better and better – and not just in sport. Instead, she’s also honing her craft studying Fine Art at Buckinghamshire New University. This course is allowing her to produce a high standard of work, but likewise she believes her pieces also shine a light on athletics.
“I feel like my work sparks the conversation of who the athlete is and allows for more appreciation for the hard work athletes put in,” she reveals. “Who knows, because of my work maybe people might actually start following athletics more closely.”
Marli’s art is all set to impress. But between the people she brings to life in her portraits and the sporting moments she reimagines with such creativity, people will also be impressed to hear that Marli – who’s used to doing things at pace – can produce her work in mere hours.
“Everything I do is fast,” she quips. “I paint very quickly and that’s not because I’m rushing. I just naturally paint at speed.”
For Marli, art is a ‘release from life’. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to paint. Sometimes it’s not even about the final product or where the piece ends up. It is, instead, about how the process makes her feel.
Marli explains: “Art is the one time I can be selfish and relax by painting something that I enjoy. I can lose myself for hours at a time.”
She adds: “It takes the pressure of athletics. Like, athletics isn’t the only thing that I’m good at and it’s not the be-all and end-all.”
Marli’s next big goal comes this summer, where she’s aiming to qualify for the Under 20 World Championships taking place in Columbia in August. Like any athlete on her incredible calibre, she’s also eyeing up a spot on Team GB at the next Olympics.
In addition, it’s certainly possible that a fruitful art career is on the cards as she begins to ponder the different ways that she could potentially make a business out of her exceptional talent.
Can Marli do it? We wouldn’t bet against her because – much like her sporting career – she’ll easily jump whatever barriers are put in her way.
“Obstacles of sort of my thing being a hurdler,” she says. “I have probably overcome as many obstacles in life as I have hurdled them.”
