I have a hard time expressing myself in words…I’m more comfortable painting or cutting out paper illustrations or animating short films. Using figurative language as my inspiration, I try to compress full artistic concepts into more simplistic graphic-based images. The idea for this cut-paper piece, Mercury, came from doing communications work on the proposed Mackenzie Valley Highway Project. The conversation that I heard under people’s breath and downplayed over and over was that melting permafrost and the mercury it contained is leaching into the water system. This piece represents nature in an altered state portrayed as a monster. It recently showed at For The Land: Northern Artists Against Fracking Music and Art Exhibit.
More of my paper art appears in Prince of the Buffalo Hunters, a short film combining paper puppet styles and stop-motion techniques, which just screened at the Dawson City International Short Film Festival. I’m excited about my next collaboration, Untitled, using abstract animation with Tanya Roach and Greyson Gritt, and I’ll be putting on a workshop with the YK Ink Society, teaching pattern design and textile screen printing at the ARCC, on Wednesdays starting April 15th. You can sign up by e-mailing ykinksociety@gmail.com.
To see continuous updates of Jillian’s work or to get in touch, visit: @jillian_r_mazur on Instagram, Jillian Mazur on Facebook or @mazurjill on Twitter
