Shelby x Jasmine Thompson

Q4. What do you think the role of art is in digital activism spaces? How does this relate to the arts role within community activism?

I think the role of art in these spaces is HUGE. I can't put it into words how much of a role it plays. Art has always been used as a platform to talk about issues, in society, politics, relationships, everything. It's the greatest form of expression. Whether you're a musician, performer, poet, dancer, illustrator, using these mediums to create powerful pieces that take on an activist approach is often the best way to get these messages out there. This lockdown has encouraged creatives to use digital platforms more than in the past, so the two worlds merge together perfectly. In my opinion, photography over this last year has been especially powerful in activism, and has allowed us to see the action and movements of people across the world. Without it, we'd only really know what the media wants us to see which as we all know is a tunnel vision perspective on reality. Photography has allowed us to capture the narratives we want and need the rest of the world to know, and focus on the stories and events that are most important.

And I think this definitely runs into community activism too. Digital activism has an incredible impact, but community movements will always be essential and always be here. I think we are being constantly reminded of what changes we want to see, and often starting right here in our communities and streets is the best place to start. Whether it's forming groups, local events, talks, etc. lots can be done and all art forms are heavily ingrained within this too.

Q5. Portraiture plays an important role in your artwork, could you talk more about that?

Portraiture was my first love! Absolutely. It was all I ever did at school, and again going into college despite being encouraged to work in other ways constantly. I love challenging myself technically, and giving myself drawing tasks that I know will improve my skills and make me better. So often this involves giving myself impossible hyperrealism portraits as they take days- often weeks to complete, and require an insane amount of patience. But that's the challenge for me, it would be so easy to skip parts to finish quicker but when you play the long game the results and benefits are so worth it. These are the pieces that I mostly do for me too, I rarely get hyperrealism portrait commissions by organisations or clients so that's another reason I really enjoy them! I used to only draw in pen on paper, but I bought an i-pad at the start of this year which has really changed the game too. It's another platform to do the same thing, but add and play with colour like I couldn't before, so I'm literally having the most fun.

Q6. If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

There are SO many people I would love to collaborate with. Artist wise, there's an artist I follow on instagram 'the__wright__artist' who creates really detailed scenarios and narratives in digital drawings. They're always characters I know and love, and he's just so creative with how he lays out the scene. It would be amazing to work with them on something. And in terms of organisations, maybe from a design perspective, i would love the opportunity to collaborate on something with Nike. Whether it's having my work or design on a Jordan, or being part of one of the Nike campaigns that would be up there for sure. I did an Adidas campaign earlier this year which was incredible, for their 'Ready For Sport' initiative. I love sports and training, so having the opportunity to merge my two worlds was super inspiring and I loved every second.

Q1. We commissioned you to create some artwork in response to digital activism, which is featured in Issue 3 of our online magazine. Can you explain your thought process and tell us a little bit about what you created?

So I created 2 illustrations that talk a little about the impact of digital activism as a kind of 'new age activism' in a way. I really enjoyed exploring what digital activism meant to me, and how important it had been in my practise. I created an illustration of me, which featured my words and experience, as well as a portrait of a friend I once interviewed and his take on the topic. I wanted them to be more about the words than the imagery for a change, so the final outcomes were still very sketchy, which I really liked. Digital, online, and social media platforms have only recently become utilized in the way that they have, despite being available to us for a long time. I did these pieces long before the horrific events that took place in June 2020 that triggered a huge surge in the Black Lives Matter movement, which showed protests not only took to the streets but spread like wildfire on social media too. So now, I think the power of these platforms are even more evident and play an integral role in allowing voices and messages to be heard by the masses. That alongside the pandemic meaning we can't come together in the ways we once would, digital activism is more relied on now than ever.

Q2. What are some of the common themes in your art and what makes them integral to your work?

Most of the time I like to create work that addresses something. My work tends to have a focus on activism, social change, culture or politics, and only rarely seems to fall outside of those categories! I want to make art that acts as a catalyst for conversation and challenges the way you look at the world. By using my work as a platform for underrepresented voices and narratives to be told, it will inevitably open peoples eyes to experiences that are different to their own. I think that for me has always been the intention, to hopefully instigate positive change by the work that I do.

Q3. What’s the most exciting project you have worked on? What did you learn?

The most exciting projects tend to be mural projects, as they're usually pretty long and I have a good few months to really get my teeth stuck in. The most exciting is one that's actually still ongoing, just massively delayed due to the pandemic. But i'm looking to install a mural in Watershed that uses conductive ink- essentially meaning I can hook my paintings up to touch boards and programme them to play sound when the mural is touched, which blew my mind when I first heard about it. This project is following a residency where I explored how can creative technology be incorporated into a traditional illustration practise, and be used to enhance the storytelling element? By adding sound you can create literally whole worlds or environments, so can it make my pieces more immersive, and increase people's empathy and connection to my pieces? It's a real interesting one!

In terms of what i've learned, it's that I'm not tech savvy at all! I've been on the struggle bus so many times during this research, learning my way around creative technology and how to best use it has been the biggest thing i'm learning. It's something massively out of my comfort zone but I think it's really important for me to learn.

Q7. Where can people find/buy/commission more of your work

I run an Etsy shop! I have lots of my prints, mostly digital illustrations available to buy on there. It's called JazzshaniceArt.

And for up-to-date artwork and sketches, follow my ig @jasmineshanice123.