PAIR 5
Jaimielly & Lea Marie Diño
Artist
Jaimielly (b.1999) is a mixed media artist residing in Las Piñas, Metro Manila. She is a full-time illustrator and graphic designer for merchandise and apparel, whilst also working to establish a shop and brand outside of working hours. Primarily focusing on watercolor as her favored medium, she likes to toe the line between realistic and illustrated with her detailed, playful, and highly sentimental portraiture. Her art is heavily inspired by film, music, and literature. She primarily focuses on the portrayal and perception of girlhood in today’s lens. She avidly spends her time studying feminist concepts, specifically those portrayed in film and literature, and only hopes to be able to convey her musings on these themes through her art moving forward. She has an online shop called Moody Girl Studio for commissions and merchandise, and a mini project called the Docile Giant where she shares musings, studies, and mini-comics on feminine rage. She was featured in Novice Magazine’s Chastity Issue, released in late 2021.
Art Critic
Lea Marie Diño is a communications and social media specialist for a national government agency and was formerly a researcher at a university museum. She is currently taking up MA Art Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Her research interests lie in music criticism, criticism published in online spaces, and cultures of music-making in the Philippines.
Stage 0
Conceptualization, Portfolio Review, & Artist Interview
The artist provides a brief description of the concept they intend to explore or develop for Confluence.
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Notes on initial concept
Written by Jaimielly
In this piece, I wanted to convey a part of girlhood that feels unique to each young woman, but collectively we have all experienced it in some shape or form. As a painter that talks mainly about their lived experience, my own girlhood is important for me to discuss, as it is both my own and a shared experience with every girl and woman. This painting is about the yearning for human connection that every girl feels, whilst simultaneously yearning for isolation. I chose to paint a scene of a girl (me) in her bedroom, roses, books, candles, and keyboard strewn about to symbolize both her desire for connection and her choice of complete isolation. Hopefully within my work, viewers will feel a sense of resonance, as I’m finding out as I grow older, that we all go through roughly the same emotions.
This piece was made during a point in the holidays where love and connection is quite celebrated. As a girl, you get to a point in life where you want what you see around you and also want to be far away from it. It’s a habit of mine to try and avoid interaction during the holidays, and just spend the free time holed up in my room and read countless books to pass the time. But I was surprised, in December and earlier in January, to find that I wanted to seek out interaction.
I work almost solely with watercolor. Though I occasionally use oils and acrylics, and occasionally also sculpt here and there, watercolor does what I want to convey the best. I love intricate, thin line art, and painstakingly repetitive patterns. I like feminine patterns, specifically, as backgrounds or fabrics, because these are symbolic of girlhood.
The art critic collects information by reviewing portfolios and conducting artist interviews, which they subsequently use to formulate an initial assessment of the artist's artwork and creative process.
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About Jaimielly
Written by Lea Marie Diño
Watercolor has been described as an unwieldy, temperamental medium. But in the deft hands of Jaimielly, watercolor becomes a powerful means to depict her lived experience in navigating emotions and womanhood.
Jaimielly, a graduate of the Multimedia Arts program of the College of Saint Benilde, takes cues from films, books, and music in painting women going through emotional states. The pieces of culture consumed by the artist—Lady Bird, The Bell Jar, to name a few—appear as ephemera surrounding the subjects, seen as acknowledgments of motivation and signals the atmosphere of the images.
Most of the works are scenes of sorrow. “sad on my birthday,” for instance, portrays a woman grieving and wistful in front of a birthday cake and a tray of lumpia. With a cigarette in hand, the woman has mascara streaks on her cheeks from tears. Behind her, a picture of a birthday celebration from her younger years hangs and shiny red balloons float in the background. Maximalist and intricate detailing prevail in the artist’s body of work.
The works are all rendered in watercolor, from the ornate wallpaper pattern to the prints and textures of a subject’s blouse. Even the line art, which could have been presumed as drawn in pen or ink, is also done in watercolor, as the artist reveals. This shows her command over the medium and tools.
Jaimielly’s portfolio shows promise, and it can be thrilling to ruminate on the possibilities of what images of womanhood can be explored, despite the challenges the medium may pose.
Stage 1
Study Work & Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis
The artist translates their written concept from Stage 0 into a tangible form and provides a brief artist statement elucidating the work. This stage functions as a research or study phase, focusing on the execution and development of both the form and content of their concept.
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The art critic examines the transitional phases of an artist's production, exploring how the artwork and the artist's practice evolve during the creative process.
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Stage 1 Artwork
Black Swan
Jaimielly
Watercolor on paper
12"x12"
Artist Statement:
In this work, I wanted to portray how I’ve been thinking more and more about my womanhood and what it means to leave girlhood behind, albeit not all at once, but bit by bit. To shed girlish and considerably young or childish habits in favor of more refined, polished, womanly ones. This is a concept I have a little bit of trouble accepting that I have to go through, because I still feel more like a girl than a woman. A lot of this transition, to me, almost feels like separating yourself into two mirror images. Cleaning up the old, yet younger, version of yourself. Women are subconsciously expected to become a more polished, refined, cleaner, more evolved version of themselves. In my study I wanted to add quite a lot of swan or swan-like references. I wanted an intricate swan pattern as the wallpaper/background, a pattern that a lot of young girls may have grown up seeing a lot of in their own childhood rooms. This is both an homage to the film Black Swan (2010), and also to the “Madonna and the Whore” trope in film and media. I wanted to make it look aged, almost decaying in color, to symbolize the passing of time. Two versions of me/the subject sit at the forefront of the painting. One is sitting on the other’s lap, quite a bit like how children would sit on their adults guardians’ laps. The images I used as reference to paint my subjects are just of me, two weeks apart. We can interpret these mirror images of the subject as the woman and the girl, but in reality they’re just both, simultaneously.
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Stage 1 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis of Black Swan
Written by Lea Marie Diño
Perhaps the first thing to notice in the works of Jaimielly is the sorrow of the subjects.
For her first piece for Confluence, Jaimielly depicts two identical women, both with tear streaks running down their cheeks as cigarettes jut out from their mouths—the motifs in her body of work. But while seemingly the same in age, one sits on the lap of the other, rendering one infantilized and the other in charge. The image presents the transition from girlhood to womanhood; the tears from the subjects must have been brought forth from the struggle to shed immature thoughts and doings and to step into the heels of taking on more responsibilities for the self and to society.
Once more taking cues on films featuring women facing hostilities, and then drawing more ideas and clarity from video essays about said films, Jaimielly posits the struggle of women to grow up and grow old. The piece, a watercolor work on paper, delivers a soft moment of realization to undo facets of the younger female self in the pursuit of progress.
The wallpaper in the background mirrors the two figures through the pattern of swans, one black and the other white, whose necks are intertwined. The difference in color signals two different personalities. But to recall, in popular culture, particularly in Swan Lake and the modern film Black Swan, the lead ballerina playing the role of Odette, the white swan, also plays Odile, the black swan. The artist sews in this reference to further the idea that duality can be present in one body.
A longer look at the piece may leave one wondering more about the details painstakingly illustrated in the image.
The transparency of watercolor sets it apart from other painting mediums like oil and acrylic. This delivers the softness, compared to other media’s hardness, so to speak, through opacity. And this medium’s softness makes it the most appropriate method to portray this moment.
In a conversation in the midst of producing this work, the artist reveals the use of the super fine, thin brushes for the painting’s line work, which explains the detailing of the wallpaper, of the woman’s tattoo, the hair and face details of both figures, textures in the clothing. She shares that there is satisfaction in the detailing work and the fine lines necessary to make this happen.
The maximalist aesthetic prevails in the work, and the attentiveness of the artist to details and the flair to let these emerge as a part of the story captured in the work manifests.
Stage 2
Study Execution & Review of Related Works or Literature
Study Execution & Review of Related Works or Literature
The artist will refine the artwork based on insights gained during Stage 1 deliberation and production. Their partner will offer relevant literature or artwork to support the enhancement of both the form and content of the piece.
The art critic persists in examining the artist's creative process and decision-making. Moreover, they seek out relevant literature or artwork that can enhance the development of their counterpart's work.
Stage 2 Artwork
Girl Cage
Jaimielly
watercolor on paper
12"x12"
Artist Statement:
Girl Cage calls upon film theory applied often in coming of age films, which are often produced and marketed towards young women, wherein the bedroom, house, or room that belongs to a character is an extension of their bodies. In films, the bedroom becomes messier to symbolize the undoing of a character’s initial/original state. In Girl Cage, four green-tiled walls encompass a woman who is surrounded by her ephemera. Comfort items, items that give you an insight to who she is or who she may be perceived to be, surround her as she looks up at the ceiling - or the viewer - in what can be thought to be a calm or unidentifiable manner. I wanted to emulate this particular film theory because it is so often used in films that can be categorized as feminine, as women do often have a deep connection to their bedrooms, adorning their walls with sentimental keepsakes, cabinets of clothing filled with colors and patterns, curated messes, they always give an insight to a woman’s personality. In film, however, a bedroom can be the character’s haven and simultaneously their cage, depending on how the character is perceived. As women, we are sometimes bound by how we are perceived.
In creating Girl Cage, I wanted to have a pronounced set of colors present. These are colors often associated with girlhood and womanhood - green, for envy, which the woman in the image is surrounded by; pink, for femininity, which is the blanket she is perched on; and blue for melancholy, because the woman is a solitary figure.
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Stage 2 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis with Review of Related Work or Literature of Girl Cage
Written by Lea Marie Diño
I have several experiences in encountering works-in-progress due to my previous employment in a university museum. When the artist allows it, having a hand on completing a work and seeing it from start (or middle) to finish can be quite rewarding. Apart from the sense of satisfaction from bringing a work to fruition, I say it is also rewarding as it allows for a peek inside an artist’s thinking, theory, tools, and technique. Critique is kept at bay.
Now, however, in a different capacity—as critic, that is—there is something quite unique in seeing a work-in-progress (WIP). Convention dictates that a critic first encounters the work after its completion. Having seen a work in this state, there is a bit of apprehension: a feeling that this shouldn’t be the case; a feeling that this might be an intrusion to the process.
“Girl Cage,” a WIP by Jaimielly is an addition to her corpus of works depicting the experience of girl/womanhood done in watercolor on paper. Interestingly, there are several departures here from her older works that I have seen. For one, the motif of tears and mascara streaks are not to be seen; instead, the subject’s facial expression is one that could be succinctly described as relief. But knowing what the title tries to convey, there are things to be unraveled underneath this mood being portrayed.
The subject, dressed in blue, relaxes against pink gingham-covered pillows and an equally pink floral blanket, and all these appear against a green grid background, suggesting a room. But ruminating further, this hints at a padded cell for solitary confinement. Rendering it in a light green color diffuses its clinical undertones.
Various personal effects surround the subject: record sleeves and a turntable, books, sketchpad and watercolor, headphones plugged into a mobile phone, boots, and a pair of underwear. The subject looks up—and this is another departure from her previous work, as we see all these from the top view. Our view is zoomed out, which is definitely a contrast to the profiles in her other paintings.
This is especially interesting as the text I shared with Jaimielly to help her in her WIP is Laura Mulvey’s critical text “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (which she was already familiar with). Perhaps the part of the essay that resonates the most, making it reach seminal status, is the idea that women are passive objects in film that only exist to fulfill male desire—the concept of the male gaze, a heterosexual, even more masculine perspective on depicting women in film. Moreover, Mulvey argues that the male gaze in cinema controls the narrative, shaping viewers' perceptions and reinforcing gender stereotypes.
But drawing perspectives from “Visual Pleasure” while looking at Girl Cage provides such rich contrast because the perspective the artist chose for her painting also allows control of the narrative. Directing the viewer's attention to the composition, the perspective of “Girl Cage” allows another kind of control to the narrative. From this view—from the top—we are able to identify what the cage is like, and we are able to question and ponder—what or who is exactly being boxed here? Why are these objects with her, and what exactly is their relevance to the subject? And why is there a need to see it this way? The artist thus subverts in a way the male gaze.
Delving further into the idea of perspective, who is able to see a work this way also becomes relevant, as well as their relationship with the work. “Death of the Author” by Roland Barthes, also a well-known critical text, encourages a more active role for the reader or spectator in the interpretation of texts and artworks. But this is also the root of tension; as mentioned earlier, looking at a WIP as a critic is not the usual, and taking an active reader capacity felt like an intrusion to the production of the work, which I believed before should have been done by the artist alone.
In a meeting with Jaimielly, I chose to dive into a discussion on the abovementioned critical texts to help the artist form her own ideas which she can apply to her work. This was my way of critiqueL planting the seeds for further rumination which could possibly affect how the work will be realized and materialized.
On my end, however, the following thought prevails: Barthes tells us that the author should not be considered in viewing, reading, or experiencing a work, but when looking at a WIP, one would know that there’s an author that will complete the work—this creates a tension from the instructions of Confluence.
This specific tension, however, brings both the critic and the artist a new aspect in the production of the work. I relayed to the artist that while Barthes’ view is applicable—that a viewer can establish a rich relationship with the work without the artist in mind—it is also possible to disregard it because knowing the artist and her portfolio, the author is essential, the author is central to the work. She has her hand on the subject, and also how the subject is seen.
References:
Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Screen, Volume 16, Issue 3, Autumn 1975, Pages 6–18, https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/16.3.6
Roland Barthes, The Death of the Author, Image, Music, Text, translated by Stephen Heath, Hill and Wang, 1977, pp. 142–48.
Stage 2
Context
The artist progresses from Stage 0 to Stage 2 with a deliberate focus on the context of their work. During this phase, they are encouraged to challenge the possibilities of their work, exploring new potential in material, medium, or form.
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The art critic touches into the broader context of the artist's work, exploring how external factors such as cultural, social, political, and historical influences shape the creation and interpretation of the piece. By examining the artist's environment, personal experiences, and the prevailing ideologies of the time, the critic uncovers deeper layers of meaning within the artwork. This analysis allows for a more comprehensive understanding of how the artist's intentions and the artwork’s reception are intertwined with the world around it, ultimately providing richer insights into its significance.
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Stage 3 Artwork
Babydoll (Tchochke)
Jaimielly
Watercolor on Paper12”x12“
Artist Statement:
I found myself deviating from my typical color palette, drawn to this sort of overly saturated red, not unlike the shades of red commonly acquainted with womanhood. Lipstick, red dresses, high heels, are some of the things conventionally expected of girls to start sporting once they reach a certain age or maturity, but I’ve always found myself feeling like a sheep in wolf’s clothing, like these are things I may never grow to feel comfortable in. Women are expected somewhat to perform, have always been, and I found myself almost caged by the necessity to shed any girlish habit and trade them in for cleaner, smoother, more polished ones. This, along with my entry that is still a WIP for stage 4, will be a diptych that plays on the color red, and the expectation for women to "perform."
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Stage 3 Text
Work-in-Progress (WIP) Analysis with Contextual Analysis of Babydoll (Tchochke)
Written by Lea Marie Diño
In the film Malena, a key event that informs its plot is the titular character walking downtown as dozens–perhaps even hundreds of pairs of eyes ogle at her. She is the talk of the town, but in the worst way, as her beauty is seen as a threat to the community.
Objectification of women is not a new phenomenon, and it has certainly been the subject of many visual texts, but its significance still bears repeating in art. The diptych Babydoll (tchotchke)/Girls in red dresses by watercolor painter Jaimielly is a welcome addition to pieces of culture that capture this particular struggle.
In Babydoll, severed parts of a doll are piled against a red background–perhaps red velvet, or perhaps blood-stained fabric. The dress and ribbons are rendered in a delicate, light blue, which offers a rich contrast to its surroundings. We see a dress, a ribbon, the limbs, and the head. The head, in particular, bears resemblance to the heroine in Jaimielly’s works, but in the face is a much younger iteration marked by its fat, rosy cheeks. Despite this marker of youth, the eyes tell otherwise; while it gleams, it expresses a look of concern, almost fear. A closed cigarette box lies in the corner of the canvas, signaling what is to come for this youth.
The dismembered limbs and detached torso and head serve as a poignant metaphor for the dehumanization experienced by women. In the slightly haunting image of fragmented doll parts, the artist confronts the viewer with the stark implications of reducing women to mere objects, no more than playthings to be dismantled and discarded at whim. The juxtaposition of innocence and violence, as embodied by the doll's form, forces us to deal with the pervasive objectification that permeates our cultural landscape.
Girls in red dresses, the other panel (and a work-in-progress), is a snapshot of Jaimielly’s heroine sitting by a table, surrounded by women each donning a red dress in a different style. A red dress is a culturally significant piece of clothing for representing power, status, and femininity; in some cultures, celebration. The heroine, on the other hand, wears a red slip dress dotted with a yellow floral pattern. Seemingly in a haze, the woman is possibly in the midst of an attempt to become unbothered by the scene she is in, as she holds a cigarette stick between her fingers.
As the painting is still a work-in-progress, what’s left to do is extrapolate. The scene is rendered in a palette reminiscent of the film In the Mood for Love by acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai, with its yellows and reds and browns. And the image is a statement that complements that of Babydoll, as it shows the role a woman must play in society when everybody is looking: with power, with status, but also keeping femininity intact. This, however, is broken by the woman’s expression; it is a kind of subversion that turns an apathetic eye towards this role. And if not apathy, jadedness.
This particular struggle is depicted in the diptych as something that occurs in the everyday, in the most mundane–a toy and a dress. More importantly, the work tries to convey how objectification is viciously deep-seated in our culture, if not in culture.
Back to the scene in Malena: an older man, a neighbor, stops Malena in her tracks and asks her how her ill father is doing. He asks permission for her hand and kisses it, but his eyes dart in different directions to check if the same pairs of eyes are seeing his gesture, wordlessly claiming that he has “scored.” A mean smugness emerges, instead of a genuine concern for Malena and her family.
Babydoll (tchotchke)/Girls in red dresses also succeeds in depicting this harmful situation, but also contains what the film Malena seems to warrant: a response, a confrontation, to this particular challenge. The eyes of the townspeople in Malena do not cease to see the woman as something, despite her being someone. The eyes of the heroine in Girls in red dresses, specifically, tells us, “This is tiring–please put an end to this.”