Artist Statement - Painting Practice
My creative practice is an exploration in collaborating with and bringing the wonders of the invisible world into focus. My 2D work is made with ink, water and found materials on hydrophobic paper. I choose to work with these materials because of their ability to transform into something I cannot predict over a period of time. They start out as colorful shallow puddles and the end result is a record of photographic details that reveal themselves as the water from the puddle evaporates. Michelle Grabner, one of the 3 curators of the 2013 Whitney Biennial has described my paintings as “contemporary photographs” due to their photographic nature and the way they develop over time.
Creating each painting provides me with a deep sense of peace and gives me an opportunity to practice letting go and focusing on the wonders unfolding in front of me in the moment. The less I try to predict and control the outcome, the better the painting and life will become. My art practice teaches me detachment, trust in a power greater than myself, and helps me discover new possibilities beyond what I have already imagined.
Because my process uses the magic of science and the wonders of nature, I have been able to easily teach others so they can experience the benefits of the creative process too. In ym South Philly Studio I run workshops and I also sell art kits. I say, if you can spill milk, you can create a beautiful piece of art with Project Joy. I don’t use any brushes and prefer to use tiny dropper bottles and pipettes that help initiate you into a state of play. My mission as a creative is to provide you with a chance to experience the awe and wonder I feel when I create, especially to those that don’t believe they are capable of being creative.
Build Your Own Painting Collection (WIP)
In the first quarter of 2023 I will be working on a new series of work that uses my natural phenomena painting process to create dynamic pieces of art made of many pieces that can be rearranged. My hope is that my collectors will collaborate with me by moving the individual pieces around within the frame and will slowly take on the role of a creator too, if they don’t already identify as one.
Breathing Room
Artist Statement - Sculpture & Installation Practice
I also have another process that I developed that combines my love of color and translucency and biology. This process is inspired by my early encounters with stained glass and my interest in the body due to my chronic breathing condition that landed me in the hospital over 50 times as a child. I have used this material to create large scale museum installations and corporate commissions in the healthcare space. I am drawn to the idea that complex ideas start with a single building block. This material starts as a single ‘cell’ that I piece together to create larger sculptures that I have referred to as synthetic organisms.
Over the next year I am developing a series of work entitled ‘Breathing Room’ that will consist of a 20’ in diameter physical experience that connects the participants breath to the illumination of the space. I am currently working with Our People Entertainment to pitch the project and we just pitched to Blue Cross Blue Shield and we are currently waiting to hear back. In the meantime I am also developing smaller wall pieces that participants can interact with by breathing to illuminate them. I am using sensors that detect sound and pressure to control the lights as a means of providing a beautiful meditative biofeedback experience.
_________________________________________________
Bio
Jessica Joy London was born in Guyana and grew up in Florida. She received a BFA with distinction from the University of South Florida and an MFA from the University of Michigan. Since 2001 Joy has been an exhibiting artist in the contemporary art world. She has been featured in the Smithsonian, the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, the International Auto Show and is collected in many private and public collections.