My artwork often borrows ideas and storylines from both fiction and non-fiction narratives to illustrate themes of metamorphosis and identity. Death is used many times as a positive symbol of future hope after a transition, and to evoke the simplicity that comes with a stripping away of everything that is non-essential.
I am repeatedly drawn to illustrating a mixture of, in the words of Sufjan Stevens, “autobiography, religious fantasy, and regional history” to create pieces. My aim is to create work that is universally accessible and inclusive. My goal isn’t art for art’s sake, but to develop visual vessels into transmissions of shared experience and hope.
Jessica Shirley Artwork 