Perhaps you got the opportunity to peruse the beautiful collection of art in the James White Library lobby these past few weeks. I know I always take a few moments out of work to stand in front of the art pieces and really ponder them. So during our newspaper’s week off, I took the time to sit down with Jasmin Hislop, the mother from the mother-daughter duo of artists, and discuss her work and the meaning behind them. Feel free to check out the exhibition—it will be open for an additional week beyond advertised!
What inspired this particular collection “Joyful Resilience”? What ties these pieces together? Was it a particular event or perhaps your vision of a need in the art space?
In general, our work invokes joy and celebration. You can see this with our profuse use of color and movement. It seems only natural that our contribution to the celebration of Black History Month at AU will feature images of joyful resilience from that context.
What media did you utilize for the pieces in this particular exhibition (ie: paint, chalk, sharpie) and why? What do you find unique about those media & what do they enable you to do?
We worked with a variety of media such as pen and ink, acrylic, batik and digital design. We also experimented with combining these pathways to diversify the outcome and experience. Each medium brings its own voice to the conversation of our work. Collectively or individually, our choice of media, within any given exhibition, is dictated primarily by the impulses and calculations during the moments of engagement with each piece.
Tell me about your artistic journey. What interested you about physical works of art? When did you begin?
Ever since I can remember, I was always drawing something. My teachers consistently complained about my untidy books and my mother was all out of ideas to control the situation. As opportunities opened up for me to express myself, things got better and mom, very quickly, became my biggest supporter. In high school, I was introduced to conté crayons, pastels, watercolor, pen and ink, charcoal and a few other media. During my teacher training years, I worked with acrylic paint and developed an interest in fabric design- wood cuts, linoleum prints, batik and hand painted designs. After migrating to the US, I gravitated toward computer graphics where I learned several different kinds of graphic design software. Today, my work bears no one trademark. I work in a variety of media and love combining traditional work with technology. I’ve been told my abstracts and semi-abstracts make memorable impressions. I hope this will be your experience as well.
How does your positionality impact your work? What links do you see between the Christian experience and art?
Any and every existential area of our personal and collective journey threads the fabric of our work. Our Black heritage, for example, informed the rendering of the female character in Jasmin’s “Bone of my Bone” and Alyssa’s “There’s a Garden in her Fro.” We have not identified a connection to our femininity, however. Psalm 150:6 states “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” Art, at its core, is a multidimensional form of expression. God’s first recorded earthly career was that of an artist. Created works of art are a spiritual gift, as we see in the building of the Sanctuary of God. Those blessed with this ability have some obligation, in our opinion, to use it for God’s recognition and glory. Unfortunately, within the Seventh-day Adventist tradition, the visual arts do not share the same prestige as the voice and musical arts and are oftentimes neglected or sometimes muted.
My favorite pieces are probably “Bone of my Bone” and “Shekinah,” as well as “Earthen Vessels.” Do you have any additional commentary about those pieces?
“Bone of my Bone”— in my mind, the arrival of Eve on the stage of existence was one of dramatic fanfare and powerful emotions for Adam. “Bone of my Bone” is more than a declaration of her origin. It was an undiluted reaction to the unadulterated gift of love given to Adam. Only the love of God could rival such intensity. This piece is my humble attempt to capture the passion of the experience over the details of the event.
“Earthen Vessels” is the rendering of these words of encouragement found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-10: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
“Shekinah,” on the other hand, does not have a story we can share. It is meant to be experienced by the viewer. Encounters with the glory of the Lord is as individual and unique as our fingerprint, but it does at least one thing for everyone—humble us.
Do you have any advice for other young Black artists?
To be young, gifted and Black is a unique expression of God. Explore your positionality as your journey dictates. Seek opportunities to share your stories. Your gift is a sacred trust. Don’t miss the opportunity to use it as part of your ministry.
What was it like working with the James White Library to bring this to life? How did they facilitate this experience for patrons?
Working with the JWL staff was amazing. Paulette Johnson and her team were relentless in their desire to host this exhibition. In addition to their courteous and professional handling of the process, they also, as an institution, unmuted the visual arts. We’re very grateful that God used them so powerfully to engage another voice of the gospel.
For more information about Jasmin and her daughter Alyssa, as well as their artwork, check out https://www.jaachidesigns.com/.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.