i have nothing new to say. watch me try.

Immanuel J.( b.1999, Albany, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist primarily working on site based installations, experimental video-making, and interactive performance.

J. received their undergraduate degree in Fine Art, American and Indigenous studies at Bard College (2022) and their master’s degree from the Center for Human Rights and the Arts (2024).

J. explores how different mediums interact with each other and hopes to blur the seemingly rigid lines of visual production and research; the final forms their work often takes are assemblage pieces, mixed media installations, or live arts performances. J. draws inspiration from pop culture, Black homoerotic archives, and their hometown Albany, NY. These projects often express the ever-so-common Black American longing for reconstructivist histories in the face of archival fragmentation; if not, cathartic abjection, or the laborious struggle to make sense of the senseless. J.’s work engages with how the archive and art making interact with each other. They often turn to low-tech altering, fabricating, and-or queering familial memories, Black American history, and modern folklore to meet those goals.

A connective theme throughout their work is the implication of their Black queer body in the final product; this may be done through stream-of-consciousness texts either pictured, painted, or performed. This may also be done through unconventional modes of image making, picturing their likeness, or placing their body physically in space through performance. Each project is malleable regardless of the medium, often shown through a varied series of works grouped together thematically.

Their work has been shown at Co-Prosperity Catskill (Catskill, NY, 2022), Opalka Gallery (Albany, NY, 2022), Tender Edges Microfestival (Annandale-on-Hudson, NY, 2022), Alluvial Microfestival (Annandale-on-Hudson, 2023), Nonchalant Gallery (Catskill, NY, 2024), Momenta #015 (Ridgewood, NY, 2024), and Baba Yaga Gallery (2024).  Immanuel J. is a 2023 Capital Arts grant recipient for their moving installation HausDown, highlighting the experiences of queer-n-Black folks facing housing insecurity in upstate NY.  J.’s work has been highlighted in Times Union’s 2023 “30 Artists Under 30” article.