JQ Nightshade

JQ Nightshade is an internationally collected artist examining the inherent magic in the human experience, from the spectacular to the mundane, through photography, jewelry & mixed media work. Recent exhibitions include “In The Ruins Of The Anthropocene” at Ellsworth Gallery, Santa Fe, and “Botellas de Agua” at SITE Santa Fe. They were awarded the Lorenzo Di Medici Biennale Residency, Venice in 2017 and received their BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2018.

Artist Statement

In childhood, many of us have "wild imaginations" that we allow ourselves to run away with. Imaginary friends, monsters under the bed and secret languages between friends or siblings are quite common, but sadly so is the tendency in adulthood to lose the ability or desire to let ourselves take these flights of fantasy. There are numerous motivational self-help gurus who preach "secret" laws of attraction and insist "mind over matter" with validation apparent in their sales records, yet we too often find applying these seemingly mystical methods difficult because of our society’s conditioning to constantly perceive our reality in such limiting constraints. Our innate nature to self-create through the magic of our minds and surroundings has too long been ignored by the masses. In blurring the real with the surreal, the magical with the mundane and allowing one's mind to perceive without directive or restriction, I aim to facilitate the viewers’ intrinsic ability to connect with the magic that permeates our everyday human experiences through creating inimitable adornment for the body, mind and spirit.