Today we’d like to introduce you to Jewel Mensah.
Hi Jewel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Thank you for having me. My creative journey sprang in high school when I bought my first camera using the little savings I had managed to scrounge up. I walked around my neighborhood in Chicago taking pictures of the blooming flowers during the Spring and the snow-frosted windows in the Winter. Eventually, when I felt I had enough practice learning how this camera worked, I mustered up the courage to bring it to school and take photos of my friends. Their smiles marked my experience, and even though I didn’t realize it then, I had begun documenting the moments that filled my life.
My journey continued in college, where I got the chance to try my hand at analog photography by borrowing a Pentax K1000 from the art department. I loved the entire process. I sensed then that I had begun a process of creative synthesis, not only to shoot what I found interesting but also to develop a practice of my own. Starting with the film negatives, working in the darkroom sometimes till 2 am. I would return to the drying station after finding the right photo paper I needed. Before long, I found myself standing over enlarging stations to print my negatives, learning to burn and dodge to get the image I had in my mind’s eye brought to life in print.
I wanted a little more versatility to explore videography and saved enough to purchase another camera in college. With that, I began creating semi-professional work, shooting for the various newspapers and magazines across campus. It later hit me; I had to go back to the beginning, to the glimpses of light past my lens. The pursuit of newsworthy stories faded and gave rise to the creative I am today.
With the money from my various collegiate jobs, I purchased a Nikon N90s as a companion to the others, and with these tools in tow, I began developing work that I felt aligned to create. Reflections of Intimacy was born. Developed over many moons, Reflections of Intimacy is a theoretically artistic and photojournalistic exploration into the subject and practice of intimacy; and the path of connection it opens. While moments of intimacy feel private, they are part of each of us and shape the socio-cultural fabric of our lives. Through vulnerability and plain discourse, I aim to bring these fleeting moments into the public sphere with application and critical theory. Reflections of Intimacy is my first self-published book and is now available at all major online bookstores. Learn more on my website: jewelmensah.com.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road in retrospect. As I continued down this path of creativity, I had to balance its contention with other focus areas, taking my finances and such into account. I also had to acknowledge the access or lack thereof to spaces I was welcome in and where I could learn and be impactful. Mine is not a particularly singular experience. The regarded care should extend to the artists finding their path in the world. Including those without major campaigns or exposure to their name yet. You might find them around the very places you’ve been trying to avoid and may end up being, in the words of Tupac Shakur, “The rose that grew from a crack in the concrete.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an artist and strategist focused primarily on sharing transient subtleties through photography. I specialize in portraiture, documentary, and landscape photography. I also enjoy exploring the depths of a topic through other mediums when I am able. With art, I try to infuse theoretical frameworks where applicable. While my meditative practice helps inform my approach to art. You can get a sense of this in Rými, a video that explores Foucault’s heterotopia and Lefebvre’s rhythmanalysis through performance art. To date, I am most proud of Reflections of Intimacy, which served as my first solo show in Los Angeles and is my first self-published book. I strive to explore work centered around textual relationships with the body and the moments that shape our day-to-day. A focus is currently on delving into how this expresses itself within the three states.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along my journey so far is to sit in my joy. This lesson came years after I completed my graduate degree. During the years I was pursuing my advanced degree, I did not produce a single piece of art — not even conceptually. I knew a pause was needed, yet I felt something was missing. It was not until I had gotten deep enough into my meditative practice did I uncover that I was the missing piece. I enjoy the notes within, appreciate the process of creating, and cherish the lessons I learn from it. It is not limited to making art; but also extends to creating possibilities for myself and others. I hope to continue to do so for as long as I am able.
Pricing:
- Reflections of Intimacy, Hardcover – $40
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jewelmensah.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jwlm___/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwlm__
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zciMrbrI7Ao&ab_channel=JewelMensah
Image Credits:
Jewel Mensah
