winterSALON2012: Jowy Maasdamme/ ISEEJANEMARY

Ever since Jowy Maasdamme from Iseejanemary can remember holding a pencil she was and still is completely and utterly smitten with drawing.

Her parents were always supportive of her hobby but didn’t see it as making it a career, she didn’t either growing up as a teenager on Aruba drawing just wasn’t something you would pursue back then.

After finishing High school she moved to Holland and did what was expected from her, she studied economics and law, and finished both.

Jowy: “ After receiving my diploma’s I didn’t feel a thing and that was when it hit me I was still haunted by my obsession, so after 6 years I started drawing again. I didn’t draw better, I just drew differently and it freed me up. It reminded me of when I was drawing as a kid. Guided by this feeling I started to knock on doors...knocking very hard and very loud.

While madly inspired by fashion she followed up on drawing using pencil and ink.

Jowy:” I have always associated fashion with my mood, emotions and my personality and this leaked into my illustrations very naturally.

When I draw I don’t worry about physics and the proportions don’t have to be accurate. I don’t really care about all that.

Drawing for me is about emotion: It’s always an interesting challenge to see if you can create a character that’s got emotion.”

By looking at her illustrations it’s clear that Jowy is into outcasts and shortcomings in people physique: a crack between the teeth, eyes that are too far apart each time trying to find a delicate balance of creepiness that matches her eye for mythical (sur)realism.

Jowy: “ This perception of dark beauty determines my style and allows me to create my own mad little world where there is no distinction in what I draw and who I am.”

After being featured in different fashion magazines Jowy got the opportunity to design a line of t-shirts for Blend Magazine, and slowly but surely she realized something others had already anticipated, using her talent at illustrations for more than just a hobby.

Jowy: “ For Wintersalon12 I’m working with two madly talented friends: Diantha Rodrigues Pereira (http://olgafeather.tumblr.com/) en Raúl Maduro on a piece titled: Punch me to bits or love me to pieces. I’d like for it to be a surprise, so I’m not spilling the beans just yet. I will say that it’s going to be different than my other works because it involves mixed media. Stay tuned, it’s gonna be wild.”

The piece GOD IS DEAD. I KILLED HIM & I'M GLAD, is about sharing the experience of finding one's self. A phenomenon that no human can escape but we all forget. The purpose of the piece is to depict the artists personal journeys from 'Outside to Self' by using JANEMARY (Illustrator Jowy Maasdamme's brain child) as a personal guinea pig. The added video art as well as the sound design are aimed at illustrating JANEMARY's universe in which she searches & collects her pieces to get back to her true essence.

The artists journeys & JANEMARY's journey from ISEE to IFEEL are the aftermath of the murder of the God outside. The implosion. 

You already SEE JANEMARY, now come feel her.

Titel: GOD IS DEAD. I KILLED HIM & I'M GLAD.

This project is a collaboration:

Jowy Maasdamme/ ISEEJANEMARY (Illustration)

Olga Feather (Video Art)

Raul Maduro (Sound design)