Jewel Branch

Lives and works in Baltimore, MD

Artist statement

Jewel Tiara Branch, a 26 year old visual artist from Baltimore, Maryland, uses paper scraps to create new worlds full of wonder. Her primary medium is handmade collage complemented by over a decade of practice, as well as years of drawing, painting and writing. The artist perceives her practice as one of puzzle making, honing back on her childhood love for jigsaws, trivia, crosswords and I- spy puzzles... Her art reimagines realities. The self renowned “paper magic maker” transforms ordinary images on paper into surreal compositions and portraits, portals, and dreamscapes. “Particularly moved by provocative textures and patterns and images that speak to me, sometimes in languages I am not yet fluent in, but am willing to sit with to understand, I take these images and ask ‘what if…?’ ‘what happens when…?”’ (JTB) The process is highly experimental and inquisitive. Through inquiry, trial and error, and combining unexpected imagery to create something new, Jewel undergoes sacred transformation-one which she feels changed at the end of, and hopes that the viewer leaves feeling like something changed within them, too. Moved by provocative imagery and textures, the artist creates intricate portraits and dreamscapes that capture a surreal take on identity, change, love and loss.

Artwork