Um, that’s embroidery. Yep. I am beyond thrilled to have Trinidadian – now Florida based – artist Nneka Jones on the podcast today. She finished her BFA less than a year ago, and her work has already graced the cover of TIME Magazine. Seriously. You can listen right up there under “Yellow Light”, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and/or Spotify.

First, let’s take a closer look at that stunning piece above, along with more of her work that focus on abuse and the sex trafficking of women and girls:

Aren’t those insane?! Can you believe she just started working with embroidery in 2018?! Speaking of which, here are Nneka’s very first few stitches:

I mean, seriously. She is a genius! Her first attempt?! With a pack of floss from Walmart?!

Well, that experiment worked out really well. Would you like to see the other experiment? Bring on the CONDOMS!

The story behind her use of condoms is pretty awesome… hilarious and weird, but Nneka nailed it!

Soooo, when I graduated from art school, I don’t remember TIME Magazine asking me to create a piece for their cover. Maybe I was out when they called? Look at this stunner:

As I said during the episode, I WAS SO PROUD OF HER! What an accomplishment… and there are so many more fabulous moments ahead of this young woman. Speaking which, here’s something for her to be proud of too… the time-lapsed video of  Nneka painting George Floyd:

 

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A post shared by Nneka Jones (@artyouhungry)

So powerful. Using her paintbrush and her breath to “make sure the voices of those who are no longer with us are heard.”

Next, these are the zipper pieces we mentioned. The pink zipper is finished (+ a WIP shot), the pink / gold zipper is the painting Nneka said was painting highlights onto for HOURS:

See? That’s why I had to ask if it was a real zipper! So, so good.

And finally, the extra little bit that I recorded after we’d said “goodbye”. Dear Universe, if you’re listening, Nneka and I would like to make this collaboration happen:

Right!? Amanda Gorman reciting poetry while Nneka stitches & paints. I’m picturing a live event, beautifully filmed and set to music. How amazing would that be?! Okay, it’s out there now… let’s make it happen! Thank you so much to Nneka for coming on the podcast. I cannot wait to see where her career leads. And, as always, thanks so much to YOU for listening. Next week will be the 200th episode of ART FOR YOUR EAR, see you then! ~ Danielle

Other links:

1. Nneka on Instagram, aka @artyouhungry
2. University of Tampa’s Art + Design Department
3. Time Magazine
4. Save the Children
5. Amanda Gorman, Poet