ARTIST  STATEMENT

I am an inter-disciplinary artist that focuses on dance, choreography, visual mixed media work, and filmmaking. 

Whether I’m working on a live performance or choreographing for film, I use movement as a means to create a sense of community and connection. I am deeply interested in using dance as a form of communal therapy by illustrating emotional perspectives that emphasize the shared or common nature of timely social or psychological issues we face as a society and as individuals. 

I believe the therapeutic potential in dance lies in examining our ability to have intense emotional responses to our problems and struggles. We rage, fear, love, and feel terror deeply within our physical bodies. I believe we can enter an empowering place by identifying these emotional experiences through movement, and using them to illustrate a visual landscape. 

Storytelling is vital in my artistic work. I endeavor in each medium to create a series of meaningful images or motifs. These moments become dissected as the work unfolds.

When I choreograph, I like to focus on creating an intimate connection between the dancers and the movement.  In order to accomplish this, I draw from a variety of dance traditions, including modern, contemporary, ballet, jazz, and African dance.  I also draw upon the dancer as they relate to the movement, so I choreograph with that in mind.  Each dancer I work with has a unique relationship to movement and his or her body, and I strive to explore these relationships by drawing on the strengths and talents of each individual dancer.

Collaboration is a key element in creating when working with a group of dancers or partnering with different mediums or organization. I believe that practice of collaboration produces a more grounded, organic and personal connection to the work.

The use of film in my work is important. I’m often inspired by images, scenes, or visual scenarios. I’m able to contextualize movements in a new way with cinema, and I can utilize different forms of media in order to create a multi-dimensional experience for the viewer.

My visual art practice is grounded in my dance background. I'm not formally trained in visual art, but my knowledge and training in dance causes me to gravitate towards use of texture in space. Many of my visual pieces are mixed media combining acrylic, resin and various materials. I also use illustrations to tap into an emotional experience for the viewer.  I create work that often stems from an internal emotional current. My attraction to texture, and its use in my work, often creates a piece that invokes the viewer to want to physically engage with the work. This is important to me, as having a physical or emotional reaction to art is informing me that we are making a connection to a larger story, one that can include everyone. 

Connection, storytelling, texture, community, exploration, and intimacy continue to be fueling values for my creative journey. I hope to bring to life work reflective of that.

-Jessica Ray

movement photos by Whitney Browne