Jodie became an artist after setting herself free, painting a near-realistic figurative painting as a youth. “I was in 2nd grade and loved the feeling I got from it,” explains the artist. Since then, she’s expanded far beyond the bounds of painting, working into multiple mediums, “but if I need to narrow it down, it’s Performance Art.” Her work reclaims history that is not part of the contemporary status quo narrative, bringing to light the effects of globalism, capitalism and politics on the natural landscape, particularly on her homeland Jamaica. Her work is at times “idyllic, unpolluted, and almost utopian,” and explores storytelling from a feminist perspective. She works from her living room, and is often on the computer editing and researching, sewing a costume, or at times making a site-specific installation. Currently, she’s expanding on a reiteration of her performance, “Crop Killa” called “Crop Killa’s Soca Social.” Her character is a soca dancehall queen and the aim of the piece, which is inspired by Caribbean carnivals, is to combat xenophobia. Her new piece, “The Widow,” is about the way that wives, sisters and mothers feel and hold the world’s pain. The piece responds to the dramatic times we live in. “I find that just after watching the news I experience all of this grief, sadness, while hoping for more joy, more sparkle.” She will perform both works in Gothenburg, Sweden during Live Action 12, an international performance art festival in early December. Following that, she is off to Shanghai representing the School of Visual Arts in the “Art. Letter Home.” exhibition at the China Academy of Art. Jodie is a recent recipient of the Rema Hort Mann and Franklin Furnace awards, which will make the creation of her next work “The Gypsies’ Picnic” possible.
https://www.jodielynkeechow.com/