Meet the Artist | Jessica Byrd Ghyvoronsky
Seattle-based multidisciplinary artist Jessica Byrd Ghyvoronsky is the creative force behind the reflection space that accompanies the Discovery Center’s newest exhibit, Where Do We Go from Here? Stories from a Transforming World. Jessica will be at the Discovery Center on the second Saturday of each month to staff the exhibition and meet visitors.
We recently sat down with Jessica for a conversation about her work and the inspiration behind her breathtaking new art installation. The following Q&A has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Images provided courtesy of the artist.
For those who haven’t experienced it yet, could you briefly describe the art installation?
Jessica: First you go into the Where Do We Go from Here exhibition, which highlights stories of real people going through the pandemic. So the idea is that you've really immersed yourself in all of these stories and hopefully have connected with the stories as well. Then you're led into the reflection space and immediately as you go in, you can sense this quietness. You turn the corner, and we have five trees with fabric ribbons as their leaves.
People can see the trees, and then there's also a craft table with some prompts that guide them through how to engage with this space. We're asking people to reflect on their own experiences going through this pandemic and to express whatever they want to express and however they want to express it directly onto the leaves.
We have tags, and we have origami paper and ribbon and markers and everything. So people are encouraged to really think about their emotions, their memories, their hopes and dreams — and to put them on the trees.
I also did some background music for the exhibition using crystal singing bowls and a little bit of meditative vocals on my part. And I used some sounds from nature — birds and water and that sort of thing just to lend to that meditative atmosphere that we wanted to give people.
And then we have 1,000 origami lilies suspended from the ceiling. Origami is something that I've done ever since I was a child, and 1,000 paper cranes is a standard practice where if you make 1,000 cranes, your wishes will come true. So the paper lilies are sort of like a twist on that. I've made these 1,000 paper lilies in hopes that your wishes will come true.
What was your inspiration in this project? How did it all come together?
Jessica: The concept for the exhibition went through several iterations, but the original inspiration for the leaves is from Korean culture (I am half Korean). When you're celebrating something — or even when there's a funeral — you send these big flower stands, and on the flower stands you have these cascading ribbons with messages on them. So that was the inspiration for using ribbons for the leaves.
The way that I have built this exhibition is an expression of myself. However, I think that true art is when other people can interpret the art the way that they want to. And then the fact that they can also contribute their own expression just makes it all the more amazing.
Every step of the way as I was making all of this stuff, I constantly had the people's stories on my mind and on my heart. It was a bit of a heavy process. It felt heavy — in a good way, in a necessary way.
What has the reception to the artwork been like so far? What do you hope people take away from the experience?
Jessica: We've already gotten a lot of amazing contributions. Some are heartfelt, some are hilarious, some are really sad. I'm excited to see the trees just become so full of the public's contributions. I see my part in this whole exhibition as setting the stage, but the true art, the true exhibition is what everybody else contributes — so it won't be done until whenever the exhibition is done.
I'm hoping as people read the tags and read other people's stories that they'll realize just how similar we are, just how connected we actually are. Or, for people who have been more privileged than others, that they would have compassion for people who have experienced deeper things than they have. I just hope that people can feel safe to be honest with themselves and vulnerable enough to share their story on these trees. They're anonymous unless you put your name on them.
There's no wrong emotion — anger, sadness, grief. I hope people can connect with that level of honesty and put it out there. And I hope that when they see those emotions (from others) that the lesson is being absorbed.
Is there anything you personally experienced during the pandemic that influenced what’s in the installation?
Jessica: Meditation is something that I picked up in the past couple of years, and it has done wonders for me. And so that was really important to me — that I didn't just create a space where people can come and like get crafty and, like, do cute things, you know?
In our day and age, things are so fast and we're so distracted and there's so much overstimulation, which is a big reason why anxiety is such a huge issue for this generation. So I wanted to create a meditative experience that would allow people to slow down and really go interpersonal.
I feel like this is the most important work I've ever done. This pandemic has really affected everybody in a variety of different ways. To be able to create something for people to connect with at that level and to get something out of it, it's just so meaningful to me.
