Is This Who I Am?

Currently Jamillas work is mainly about her identity and the search for who she is. Jamilla is a half Dutch – half Surinamese person, raised in the Netherlands. In the past two years she has started using her identity eithin her work, going deeper into both sides of her cultural identity and feeding this information back into her work. But Jamilla also tries to make room for all further fascinations that she has and encounter in her life. She believes that in addition to her cultural identity, all these different aspects also have a role in relation to her identity and therefore deserve a place in her art. In this she tries to find a balance between a serious and a more humorous, sometimes even cynical side.

“In my artistic practice I move from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and back again. By means of scaffolding tubes I create frames on which colorful textile works are hung. These canvases show figures and symbs that have been painted and printed on. I find inspiration for my textile works from many different things ranging from cartoons to insects and birds. They find their way into my work by transforming into abstract images and designs.

The flexibility of the textile works and tubes are a must for me. In my work I focus on flowing movements in which freedom and transformation are key. With this I try to find answers to how painting and installation can be combined and can be an extension of each other.”