Jessi Ujazi

Collage Artist and Painter

Artist Statement

My art practice is rooted in a spiritual exploration of my own identity and connection to the global history and experiences of the African diaspora. It is articulated through painting, digital collage, and paper collage as mediums to construct and compose narratives, both real and imagined.

My process reflects the complexities of navigating self-discovery in a world that has historically suppressed and erased the memories, experiences, and contributions of my ancestors. Finding inspiration from historical research, I reclaim and recontextualize archived media acquired from oppressive colonized experiences. I manipulate scale, perspective, and juxtaposition to create “larger-than-life” depictions of Black folks, thriving beyond the limits of space, time, and mortality.

My art illustrates a harmonious, reciprocal relationship between Black folks, nature, and the otherworldly. I consider my artistry to be Afro-Omniscient, encompassing the past, present, and future of Black existence and imagination simultaneously.

Biography

Jessi Ujazi (formerly known as Jessi Jumanji) is a Los Angeles based artist known for creating captivating, spirited portrayals of Black existence, realized through collage and painting. Her upbringing in Memphis, Tennessee and familial roots in Greenwood, Mississippi, the cotton capital of the world, lend her a unique, contemplative perspective of Blackness in a global context. Jessi Ujazi’s process involves deep research into African history and is informed by her own personal experiences and intuition.

Uniquely referential, her work speaks a personal visual language that draws parallels between African history, pop culture, and the postmodern Black experience. With an unwavering sense of duty to explore and amplify the narratives of Black folks, Ujazi’s collages and paintings are visual memoirs that inspire viewers to contemplate the lives, legacies, and futures of the people depicted. Her multilayered work is a synthesis imagination, history, and spirituality, and echoes an intimate, meditative journey of self-discovery. Ujazi means “abundance” in Swahili.

Jessi Ujazi’s artwork has been display in some of the world’s most renowned museums and galleries, including Carnegie Hall and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. She studied at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and received a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication design from Northern Kentucky University.

Recent Works