Mixed Media:
Sculptures & Installations.
unknown reverences. Dirt, Sawdust, and Wood. 17x8x8. 2016
unknown reverences is an ephemeral earth-based genderless sculptures that celebrate and honor the lives of black children who’ve been murdered by state-sanctioned violence. This is a prototype of an eco-friendly and biodegradable sculpture that will embrace nature’s transformation of erosion by returning to the Earth, which parallels how, despite the relentless project of white supremacy, Blackness never dies– we persist, transform, and evolve.
Eventually, this work will be installed in its final, public resting place, to transform. The next phase is to work alongside black families who have experienced a loss to ensure that the work is rooted in meaningful collaborative healing processes, as this series can be another reverent avenue for healing.
unknown reverences is an ephemeral earth-based genderless sculptures that celebrate and honor the lives of black children who’ve been murdered by state-sanctioned violence. This is a prototype of an eco-friendly and biodegradable sculpture that will embrace nature’s transformation of erosion by returning to the Earth, which parallels how, despite the relentless project of white supremacy, Blackness never dies– we persist, transform, and evolve.
Eventually, this work will be installed in its final, public resting place, to transform. The next phase is to work alongside black families who have experienced a loss to ensure that the work is rooted in meaningful collaborative healing processes, as this series can be another reverent avenue for healing.
Mud Stencil: Trapped by Toomin, #FreeThemAll. Mud. 26x26 inch & 10x2 inch. The action is in collaboration with Liberation Library, Assata's Daughters & American Friends Services Committee. 2020.
Installation documented by Sarah-Ji, Love + Struggle Photos.
#TrappedbyToomin was a rapid response action, in front of the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, to bring awareness of Judge Michael Toomin, who was disproportionately targeting Black and brown youth for detention, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. jireh was the installation artist and art director with the support of two art assistants.
The pandemic shifted how we organize and gather; jireh used an eco-friendly, semi-permanent mud stencil to engrave the campaign's message into the sidewalk. This method ensured that awareness continued to spread long after our departure.
Circular mud stamp reads #TrappedbyToomin; the smaller stamp reads #freethemall. Depicted are three black cars acting as a centerpiece and temporary altar, which read #FreeOurYouth. The cars are clad in my personal houseplant collection to bring life into a barren space. Installation and materials shot also included + photos of how the organizers reclaimed the plaza space, with joy, signs, chants, play, and presence.
Installation documented by Sarah-Ji, Love + Struggle Photos.
#TrappedbyToomin was a rapid response action, in front of the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center, to bring awareness of Judge Michael Toomin, who was disproportionately targeting Black and brown youth for detention, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. jireh was the installation artist and art director with the support of two art assistants.
The pandemic shifted how we organize and gather; jireh used an eco-friendly, semi-permanent mud stencil to engrave the campaign's message into the sidewalk. This method ensured that awareness continued to spread long after our departure.
Circular mud stamp reads #TrappedbyToomin; the smaller stamp reads #freethemall. Depicted are three black cars acting as a centerpiece and temporary altar, which read #FreeOurYouth. The cars are clad in my personal houseplant collection to bring life into a barren space. Installation and materials shot also included + photos of how the organizers reclaimed the plaza space, with joy, signs, chants, play, and presence.
piecemeal (earthen works in progress). (Title Wall; Full). Mud. 7 inches x11 feet. 2024.
The public installation and design of this mud stencil and vinyl wall text was by jireh; it was for piecemeal, a month-long show, at the Chicago Artist Department, for which jireh functioned as the art handler for.
Depicted is the view from outside the gallery, to show scale, and a close-up video to show texture and grit. Below the mud stamp are 5 textile works by Bryana Bibbs, a Chicago-based artist.
The public installation and design of this mud stencil and vinyl wall text was by jireh; it was for piecemeal, a month-long show, at the Chicago Artist Department, for which jireh functioned as the art handler for.
Depicted is the view from outside the gallery, to show scale, and a close-up video to show texture and grit. Below the mud stamp are 5 textile works by Bryana Bibbs, a Chicago-based artist.
RJ 27 (Series, Restorative Justice 27): Iteration II. 06/2023. Screenprint on Newspapers in Varying Sizes. Print Poster 11x17 inch. 2023.
Workshop documented by cache.
Depicted is a screenprinting workshop at The Women’s Center at Northwestern University; before teaching about the screenprinting process, jireh opened a conversation about what safety means. Students are shown overlaying a print of a patrol car that reads, “Safety?” onto local and campus newspapers. The run of this iteration of RJ27 was double the previous print in 2017, because production leaned into the historic power of screenprinting, which is producing as a collective to print in mass. Included is one installation of the "Heal" poster; not depicted is the distribution of these screenprints in public spaces. A cohort of students influenced the redesign of RJ27.
The olive poster reads “HEAL,” and embedded within the letters are examples to access healing: stargaze, weep, breathe, create, etc. A definition is offered, “Restorative Justice urges us to divest from punitive measures– surveillance, fines, detention &/or death & instead ask: What’s needed to heal from harm? To put things as right as possible? This is a practice to build safe communities.”
RJ27 distorts the idea that cops=safety.
Workshop documented by cache.
Depicted is a screenprinting workshop at The Women’s Center at Northwestern University; before teaching about the screenprinting process, jireh opened a conversation about what safety means. Students are shown overlaying a print of a patrol car that reads, “Safety?” onto local and campus newspapers. The run of this iteration of RJ27 was double the previous print in 2017, because production leaned into the historic power of screenprinting, which is producing as a collective to print in mass. Included is one installation of the "Heal" poster; not depicted is the distribution of these screenprints in public spaces. A cohort of students influenced the redesign of RJ27.
The olive poster reads “HEAL,” and embedded within the letters are examples to access healing: stargaze, weep, breathe, create, etc. A definition is offered, “Restorative Justice urges us to divest from punitive measures– surveillance, fines, detention &/or death & instead ask: What’s needed to heal from harm? To put things as right as possible? This is a practice to build safe communities.”
RJ27 distorts the idea that cops=safety.
RJ 27 (Series, Restorative Justice 27): Iteration I. Screenprint on Various Paper - Newspaper, Train Ads & Heavyweight Paper. Varied Sizes. Screenprinted 2017; Installed 01/2018.
Installation documented by Serena Violet Hodges.
Depicted is a public installation of restorative justice images/“ads” camouflaged among public transportation advertisements on the Chicago (IL) Transit Authority. Thus, injecting abolitionist-seeded, healing-centered questions/prompts into train passengers’ mundane commutes. RJ27 answers Mariame Kaba’s call to “(create) abolitionist messages that penetrate the public consciousness to distort the idea that cops=safety.”
The Black poster has the word, “HEAL” overlaid on to these questions, “What has been the hardest part?” “If you had to do it over what would you do differently?” “What’s needed to make things right?” etc. The posters with blue graphics include a group of three gender fluid people, with varying hair styles: spikes, afro, and curls, and hands in a grasp, read: For community safety: Any person who causes harm to another community member will undergo a restorative justice* process. All of us cause harm & we all experience harm at some point in our lives; therefore, we will collectively address harm in order to heal. We must love & protect each other, we have nothing to lose but our chains. Attention - We are community, any harmful acts will be addressed in order to heal & put things as right as possible.” This design includes the Spanish translation. At the bottom of several posters, Restorative Justice (RJ) is defined “as collectively identifying & addressing the harm, needs & obligations in order to heal & put things as right as possible.”
The red poster, covering an army recruitment ad, reads - “Safety?” . Photographed is a black person engaging with RJ27 newspaper design, which depicts three figures: ICE, police, and FBI, clad in riot gear, with shields that read, “safety?”. This RJ design is printed over and disrupts several news stories about Chicago politicians’ corruption and the breakdown of the city’s crime by neighborhood. These newspapers were casually placed on the CTA seats, inviting direct engagement. The ads with orange and grey lettering, one on a white and the other on a black poster, read: “How do we Heal from Harm in a punitive culture?”.
Installation documented by Serena Violet Hodges.
Depicted is a public installation of restorative justice images/“ads” camouflaged among public transportation advertisements on the Chicago (IL) Transit Authority. Thus, injecting abolitionist-seeded, healing-centered questions/prompts into train passengers’ mundane commutes. RJ27 answers Mariame Kaba’s call to “(create) abolitionist messages that penetrate the public consciousness to distort the idea that cops=safety.”
The Black poster has the word, “HEAL” overlaid on to these questions, “What has been the hardest part?” “If you had to do it over what would you do differently?” “What’s needed to make things right?” etc. The posters with blue graphics include a group of three gender fluid people, with varying hair styles: spikes, afro, and curls, and hands in a grasp, read: For community safety: Any person who causes harm to another community member will undergo a restorative justice* process. All of us cause harm & we all experience harm at some point in our lives; therefore, we will collectively address harm in order to heal. We must love & protect each other, we have nothing to lose but our chains. Attention - We are community, any harmful acts will be addressed in order to heal & put things as right as possible.” This design includes the Spanish translation. At the bottom of several posters, Restorative Justice (RJ) is defined “as collectively identifying & addressing the harm, needs & obligations in order to heal & put things as right as possible.”
The red poster, covering an army recruitment ad, reads - “Safety?” . Photographed is a black person engaging with RJ27 newspaper design, which depicts three figures: ICE, police, and FBI, clad in riot gear, with shields that read, “safety?”. This RJ design is printed over and disrupts several news stories about Chicago politicians’ corruption and the breakdown of the city’s crime by neighborhood. These newspapers were casually placed on the CTA seats, inviting direct engagement. The ads with orange and grey lettering, one on a white and the other on a black poster, read: “How do we Heal from Harm in a punitive culture?”.
Content Warning the work below depicts lynching.
untitled. 3D Printed/Sculpted Figurine, Steel, and Transparent Film. 5x8x8. 2016.
This kinetic miniature sculpture includes a circular transparent collage of postcards depicting lynchings. The black body has been removed from each postcard, leaving only the crowds of white folks who partook in the heinous act. This work zooms in on a little white girl who was “curiously” looking at a lynched body, placing her at the center of attention in the spinnable sculpture. The tan postcard/image provided is the reference material for the centered girl.
This kinetic miniature sculpture includes a circular transparent collage of postcards depicting lynchings. The black body has been removed from each postcard, leaving only the crowds of white folks who partook in the heinous act. This work zooms in on a little white girl who was “curiously” looking at a lynched body, placing her at the center of attention in the spinnable sculpture. The tan postcard/image provided is the reference material for the centered girl.
Mixed Media: Drawings.
Reconfigured Anxious: “Productivity." “Housing Anxiety." “The Burden." Graphite. 14x11. 2017.
This series explores how anxiety alters, hinders and lives within my black, trans, disabled body. housing anxiety depicts the artist’s headless frail torso with an unusual organ exiting their body to examine itself. productivity depicts the artist splitting into and out of themself, while making direct eye contact with the viewer. Sound waves are drawn above their head. the burden depicts a headless torso and gangly arms grasping decaying watermelons. These works utilize my intuitive drawing style/continuous lines.
This series explores how anxiety alters, hinders and lives within my black, trans, disabled body. housing anxiety depicts the artist’s headless frail torso with an unusual organ exiting their body to examine itself. productivity depicts the artist splitting into and out of themself, while making direct eye contact with the viewer. Sound waves are drawn above their head. the burden depicts a headless torso and gangly arms grasping decaying watermelons. These works utilize my intuitive drawing style/continuous lines.
Pressed Memories. Graphite, Color Pencil, Embroidery Thread & Pressed Flowers. 42x42. 2017.
This work honors how black folks cherish memories by placing important papers and photos in books. The artist presses dried plants to hold memories. The creation process was an act of memory, from drawing a plant from memory to drawing the same plant solely by looking at the plant or an image of the plant and not looking at the drawing. This action mimics how memories are colored and altered by outside forces.
This work utilizes my intuitive drawing style/continuous lines.
This work honors how black folks cherish memories by placing important papers and photos in books. The artist presses dried plants to hold memories. The creation process was an act of memory, from drawing a plant from memory to drawing the same plant solely by looking at the plant or an image of the plant and not looking at the drawing. This action mimics how memories are colored and altered by outside forces.
This work utilizes my intuitive drawing style/continuous lines.
Pages from FTP's Color Me Resisting A Radical 2016: Voguing #TrainTakeOver, API #TrainTakeOver, Students Resist (pages). Coloring Book (2nd edition). Ink. 11x17 inch. In collaboration with For the People Artist Collective (FTP). 2016.
Works in Collaboration with Community.
Color Me Healing: A Radical 2017 Coloring Book. Cover page is 11x17 inch. Colored Pencil. In Collaboration with FTP. Book Release 2018.
The cover depicts jireh’s niece having healing words flow out of and swaddle her. The community helped them compile healing words they would swaddle themselves in and incorporated their answers. Blue print reads: rooted, unapologetic, lush, abundance, transformation, whole, etc. The inside page featured is by darien R. Wendell depicting Intersex Action Day 2017.
For the People Artist Collective (FTP) has released 3 coloring books to archive Chicago's resistance and create tools for parents, guardians, and/or adults to talk to young folk about organizing. jireh curated FTP’s latest edition to center and document Chicago’s acts of healing. They were also asked to be the featured cover artist. This softcover coloring book features 26 artists and can be purchased at local Chicago booksellers such as Women and Children First and Experimental Station.
Coloring Book Release Party photos documented by Sarah-Ji, Love + Struggle Photos.
The cover depicts jireh’s niece having healing words flow out of and swaddle her. The community helped them compile healing words they would swaddle themselves in and incorporated their answers. Blue print reads: rooted, unapologetic, lush, abundance, transformation, whole, etc. The inside page featured is by darien R. Wendell depicting Intersex Action Day 2017.
For the People Artist Collective (FTP) has released 3 coloring books to archive Chicago's resistance and create tools for parents, guardians, and/or adults to talk to young folk about organizing. jireh curated FTP’s latest edition to center and document Chicago’s acts of healing. They were also asked to be the featured cover artist. This softcover coloring book features 26 artists and can be purchased at local Chicago booksellers such as Women and Children First and Experimental Station.
Coloring Book Release Party photos documented by Sarah-Ji, Love + Struggle Photos.
Community Puzzle: Trust Youth. Acrylics. 5x6 foot. In Collaboration with Youth from the Illinois Caucus of Adolescent Health (ICAH). 2019.
The puzzle depicts two black youth, back to back, easefully leaning against each other while warm swirling feelings of trust dissipate blue feelings of lonely, self-doubt etc. An ICAH youth had a genius idea of completing a giant puzzle to physically build community. This puzzle was featured at an intergenerational ICAH (Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health) event and was created by 5 youth, 2 adults and myself.
Documentation of the construction, the completion and solving the puzzle included.
The puzzle depicts two black youth, back to back, easefully leaning against each other while warm swirling feelings of trust dissipate blue feelings of lonely, self-doubt etc. An ICAH youth had a genius idea of completing a giant puzzle to physically build community. This puzzle was featured at an intergenerational ICAH (Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health) event and was created by 5 youth, 2 adults and myself.
Documentation of the construction, the completion and solving the puzzle included.
Coming soon: Works in Wood.
If you would like to see jireh's woodworking, please fill out a contact form.
