Rejection of the Monoculture - Statement and Paintings by Jessica Bellamy
My paintings are usually developed from a note, title, or phrase that comes to me while navigating my way through life in Los Angeles. The compositions are dream-like visions of the world around me that give form to unseen, often absurdly humorous or unsettling narratives that lie beneath the landscape of mundane things: shaggy palm trees, excessive parking signs, eccentric architecture, and sunset views from the freeways. As I explore and define my perspective as a mixed-race millennial woman, I use the familiarity of Southern California landscapes and aesthetics to connect shared visual references with the mood of chaotic unrest that is undeniable in our shared historical moment. My paintings present an intensified view of contemporary life that wavers between idealism and existential ambivalence and the identity of a place.
Recently, palm trees have become my most pervasive motif. The California dream that the palms represent drew my family to Los Angeles from both the Midwest and Cuba in the 1930s and 1960s , promising paradise and urban oasis, visually encompassing so much of the cultural aspersions of a city for a century which my generation is re-inventing. Palm trees are not native to this region, but in a strange feedback loop led to my being a native in this city. Therefore, the mass-cultural cliche of the palm tree becomes a personal archetype in my work. Iconographically bridging the personal and the universal, ubiquitous awkward branchless trees are rendered to speak to issues of feminism, gentrification, immigration, environment, and my family's personal history linked with the city in a vibrant and attractive visual language. By portraying them on fire or as alternative bouquets, for example, I attempt to re contextualize, individualize and personify this highly recognizable form.
Most important to me is the unification and identification I feel with my generation and our shared physical and mental space which is not limited to a single identity. My work imagines a positive perspective of millennial erasure, where a heterogenous, empowered generation slowly dismantles structures and social norms that are not conducive to an ideal society. Through painting, I’m defining my American dream as a rejection of monoculture--a rejection of which is, in my reality, a monoculture in itself and this idea will continue to shape my work as it evolves, finding symbols for these greater themes within our shared visual rolodex.
Find more of Jessica’s work and thoughts below!
jbellzamy.com // @Jbellzamy