JAX is an interdisciplinary artist from Los Angeles, CA.
(I’m not gonna talk in third person lol)
My inspiration comes from following my MTDNA line to the Mitochondrial Eve, and unpacking the grief stored and transferred from the womb and body of the mothers before me.
I use synthetic braiding hair along with Black coded items to create installations that incorporate my own performances, using lighting, sound, dance and action.
I think of them as sets or stages that also present a subject and background for my video making, as well as supporting my sculptural and printed matter practice. I am interested in theatricality and the innate theatricality of Blackness; obsessed with exaggeration, layering and grandness, which both show up in the way I display and contextualize my work.
Extremely long hair, dramatic lighting as well as presenting myself as an extension of the installation in ways that compromise my own mobility, are necessary repeating themes.
It is important that I am visible in the work, though my presence is often obscured.
It is also important that I do the most. (using AAVE terms). To take up space, encroach on the space and build a nest as if I’d always been there.
I am an alumni at UC Berkeley, where I received my B.A in Art Practice, African American Studies and Creative Writing. I am currently attending UC San Diego as a MFA candidate for Visual Arts.
(I’m not gonna talk in third person lol)
My inspiration comes from following my MTDNA line to the Mitochondrial Eve, and unpacking the grief stored and transferred from the womb and body of the mothers before me.
I use synthetic braiding hair along with Black coded items to create installations that incorporate my own performances, using lighting, sound, dance and action.
I think of them as sets or stages that also present a subject and background for my video making, as well as supporting my sculptural and printed matter practice. I am interested in theatricality and the innate theatricality of Blackness; obsessed with exaggeration, layering and grandness, which both show up in the way I display and contextualize my work.
Extremely long hair, dramatic lighting as well as presenting myself as an extension of the installation in ways that compromise my own mobility, are necessary repeating themes.
It is important that I am visible in the work, though my presence is often obscured.
It is also important that I do the most. (using AAVE terms). To take up space, encroach on the space and build a nest as if I’d always been there.
I am an alumni at UC Berkeley, where I received my B.A in Art Practice, African American Studies and Creative Writing. I am currently attending UC San Diego as a MFA candidate for Visual Arts.
CV
Education
2021 BA University of California Berkeley
2024 MFA University of California San Diego (pending)
Grants/Awards
2016 Yes! Magazine Spring Powerful Voice Winner, Los Angeles, CA
2017 KASP/TAAP Scholarship Award, Berkeley, CA
2017 Singer Scholarship Award, Berkeley, CA
2018 & 2019 Leadership Award, Berkeley, CA
2021 Art Projects Grant, Berkeley, CA
2021 UCSD MFA Fellowship, San Diego, CA
2023 Black Studies Project Travel Grant, San Diego, CA
Exhibitions
2019 Group Exhibition, BlackGirlHealing: THIS Sh*T IS FOR US, Art Exhibition, Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center, Berkeley, CA
2020 Group Exhibition, Student Senior show, Pocket WRAG, University of California Berkeley
2020 Group Exhibition, In Commemoration of 2020, Artsteps, University of California Berkeley
2022 Group Exhibition, Tether , University of California San Diego
2022 Group Exhibition, Frieze: San Diego, Main Gallery, University of California San Diego
2022 Group Exhibition, The Sun Doesn’t Mean to be so Hot, West Gallery, Cal State Northridge
2022 Group Exhibition, Vis Drawing Showcase, SME, University of California San Diego
2022 Solo performance, For All You’ve Done For Me, Commons Gallery, University of California San Diego
Curatorial Projects
2020 Senior showcase: Paradigm Shift, University of California Berkeley (online show)
2021 Black Student Union community showcase , University of California Berkeley (online show)
2021 Spring Student Leadership Committee debut showcase , University of California Berkeley (online show)
2022 Abandoned Undergraduate Showcase, University of California San Diego (permanent installation)
2022- The Shape of Films, Performance Space, University of California San Diego
Organizations
2017-2018 Intern, Black Student Union, University of California Berkeley
2019-2021 Communications Director, Black Student Union, University of California Berkeley
2020-2021 Board Member, Art Practice Student Collaborative, University of California Berkeley
2017-2018 Events Intern, Gender Equity Resource Center, University of California Berkeley
2021- Ms.Demeaner, independent group
2021- The IUD’s, independent performance group
Teaching Experience
2018-20 Poetry For The People, student teacher poet, University of California Berkeley
2021-24 Graduate Student Instructor, University of California San Diego
Gallery Experience
2019-20 Gallery library intern ,Worth Ryder Gallery, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
2020-21 Gallery preparator intern, Worth Ryder gallery, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
2021-21 Programs & Exhibitions intern, Southern Exposure, San Francisco CA
2022 Facilities intern, UC San Diego
