Artist Statement

Jasmine Conrad is a multidisciplinary artist based in Gainesville, Florida. Conrad employs a narrative self-portraiture to depict contemporary female experience. These works explore notions of identity through an investigation of the body spaces, interior and exterior, often associated with domesticity. Using herself as a stand-in for all women within her photographic works, she is able to analyze her own complex relationship surrounding visibility within both public and private spheres; a seemingly paradoxical relationship which expresses a desire to remain unseen, but ironically produces an adverse effect through the subsequent works created. The photos intend to investigate and challenge what is considered socially acceptable behavior regarding emotional vulnerability in both public and private spaces. We are often aware of the social norms and values governing our behavior. We are also aware that behavior perceived as socially deviant is highly stigmatized. Behaviors, such as crying in public, are often perceived as socially deviant. Conrad believes that such norms are an appeal to tradition, and questions the belief that emotional vulnerability should not be expressed openly through her work. Working initially by capturing her own emotional vulnerability in both private and public initially through photographic means, Conrad offers an intimate perspective of emotional unrest; living alone with depression, anxiety, and a constant feeling of discomfort. She further explores these notions through the production of sound, installation, and video works that seek to promote compassion for the other while prompting self reflection within the viewer. Artists that influence her work include Polly Penrose and Ana Mendieta, whose works use the body as a principal tool to relate to the space around it. Another important influence is Antonia Wright, whose works can be seen as an exploration of empathy in contemporary life.