Light and Dark: Collages by Taryn Chase Jackson
- Taryn Chase Jackson
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
I met Taryn through her artwork at our local Arts Alive exhibit. Her work was granted a coveted space inside of the Kennedy Douglas Art Center, and I was in awe of her collages. I finally met her in person and asked her to share work I found to be mystically poignant and relevant, amplifying the universe. Garden Spices needed her voice. Gate open on Taryn Chase Jackson. - Victorine
Artist Statement
I prefer working in hand-cut, or analog, collage—in part because I enjoy working with my hands after a long day of working at a computer, but also because of the serendipity that goes into using whatever images or materials happen to be available. I also enjoy the challenge, which I liken to reverse engineering a jigsaw puzzle, but without the box. My work combines images that are not only from different contexts but may at first seem directly opposed—the sweet and the dark, the safe and the dangerous. I frequently reference both the light aspects of the feminine (the angel, the goddess, the archetypal beauty) as well as the dark (longing, wildness, self-destruction)—and speak to the performative shifts in identity that female-identifying people undergo based on context and desired outcomes. This is not unlike the archetypes of the tarot, where each card has a positive and negative meaning that readers come to understand are not contradictions but rather two sides of the same coin. In addition to seeing layers of possible interpretations within each piece, I hope my collages provoke viewers to wrestle with their own associations and, ultimately, assign their own meanings.
Bio
Taryn Chase Jackson (she/her) is an artist working in analog collage, mixed media, and assemblage. Originally from Western New York, she pursued visual art in high school and as an undergraduate, but focused on a career in grant writing. Now a resident of Northwest Alabama, Taryn returned to her art practice in 2019 and began exhibiting her collages in 2020. She now hosts a monthly collage meetup in the Shoals, and her work has been accepted into juried shows across Alabama, as well as California, Michigan, and New York. Taryn is a member of Collage Artists of America and serves on the board for the Alabama Women’s Caucus for Art.
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