Today we’d like to introduce you to Jazmin Saunders.
Jazmin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Ever since I was young, art has always been an outlet for me. That passion led me to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I completed my BFA in Illustration back in 2020. The pandemic, isolating as it was, gave me a lot of room to create. I pursued freelance illustration full-time. I mostly worked on portraiture for private clients but also explored surface design, murals, and other illustrations for companies such as KPMG, the Atlanta Humane Society, and Collective Arts Brewery. I also opened an online shop where I sold prints of my art as well as apparel and handmade jewelry. During this period, I also gained a modest following from my art on Instagram and TikTok and pursued content creation as another revenue stream and creative outlet.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
By 2022, I started feeling dissatisfied with my digital work, feeling like I couldn’t quite get to the feeling that I wanted to with my art. The demands of social media also became challenging for me creatively. There was constant pressure to create and post content on a tight schedule. While I tried to stay genuine in all my posts, it started feeling like I was trying to keep up a virtual persona and please the algorithm instead of focusing on making art that really challenged me.
I wanted to push myself in a different direction and really uncover what it is that I am creating for. I returned to school, and I am now pursuing an MFA in Painting.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As I move more toward fine art, I’ve been exploring how our advancing technology affects our perception of beauty, identity, and the authenticity of our experiences.
As we move more of our experiences and communications into the digital world, we are moving towards a state of hyperreality, where the lines of what is real and artificial are becoming more indistinguishable. I’m interested in exploring how things like AI-generated images, filters, and social media expose our desires and biases.
I draw a lot on how aware I feel of the way I present myself to be more consumable and how I see others using technology to create idealized versions of people for their own consumption.
For example, the reference photos of the figures and portraits I’ve painted since returning to school have been a mix of real people and generated images of people that sometimes look real and other times appear idealized to the point of uncomfortable uncanniness.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Some of my work is currently on view and for sale at MINT Gallery located in the MET Atlanta for the group show Running From Reality, curated by Miya Bailey.
I will keep my social media updated for any future shows I am a part of. Stay tuned for my thesis show in 2025 as well.
Occasionally, I am also open to freelance illustration work and private portrait commissions, depending on the project and my schedule. Don’t be afraid to reach out via email.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jazmarie.art/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazmarie.art/
