11" x 14" (size of each) - *listing is for set of 2*
Framed cyanotype diptych on 190gsm paper 2024
@quixoticpress
jay sharples (they/them) is an interdisciplinary, experiment driven artist working primarily in the world of all things printmaking. They are focused on methodical methods of making that stretch mediums to their edges and play within the scattered remains of failed experiments. Their work primarily deals with themes of alienation, chronic illness, identity, and mental illness.
jay has studied at OCAD University, Haliburton School of Art + Design, and NSCAD University. they are currently practicing out of a tiny bedroom studio with their fluffy but stern studio supervisor, Elvis.
THE STORY:
I don't process wounds, I analyze them in pieces. broken down into petri dishes they can be studied, dissected, analyzed for data. I can pick them up, poke at them, reopen them repeatedly and watch the scars shift them into Frankenstein monsters that hardly resemble the original. these wounds are still fleshy, wet with ink, slowly drying. Collecting hair and dust and bleeding the edges of what they were until someday I might not even recognize them. no one ever taught me what healing looks like.
My work involves experimenting with mediums and testing the edges of their limits, then piecing together the frayed edges of different tests into something new. while printmaking sits at the centre of my practice, I satellite the outskirts and find the loose definitions where I'm most comfortable. I gravitate toward mediums that are meditative and monotonous, where the method of making informs what is being made. There is a liberation in separating my hands from the final piece, letting it take a life of its own and having a command over its own existence.
Often autobiographical, my work tends to deal with themes of alienation, addiction, chronic illness, identity, and mental illness. Staying true to the autobiographic tone, I add words and poetry to ground the tone of pieces and lend my voice where needed.
*Please note: Purchased works are available for pickup on Sat. Oct 5th from 12-3pm, otherwise, arrangements will be made between collectors and buyers directly following the Art Circuit.