Captured by Torris Pelichet
Jasmine Yaa-Tiwaah Anokye
THE ARTIST
Jasmine Anokye aka BZARBLACKSTAR is a multidisciplinary Ghanaian-American artist. A professional daydreamer and child at heart, her work is powered by imagination and whimsy – often a compilation of mixed media elements she collects or creates. For Anokye, imagination is the ability to see the invisible, hear the inaudible, and feel the unbearable, allowing her to breathe life into her work. She sees art as a dialogue between thoughts, texture, color and experience. As a storyteller she uses her work as a visual language to depict strength, inner beauty and soft power.
Her work pays homage to her African heritage while highlighting nature and spirituality. She is motivated by the study of culture, evolution and identity. Her subjects, primarily Black women, represent resilience and triumph – each carrying intangible strength and divinity while counteracting societal stereotypes and man-made barriers.
The constant thread that runs through each of her pieces is the concept of radical self-care. Anokye attempts to evoke emotion to tell a story through her work while leaving room for the viewer to create their own backstory. Whether or not there is a shared narrative, the work is full of attitude, fearlessness and color: fueled by the ideology of #blackgirlmagic and representing a voice to those who go voiceless in our society.
As a native New Yorker, Anokye identifies with the gritty aggressive style and swag her city, which plays a significant role in her artistic sensibility. As a collector and sentimental soul, objects with personal context are included in many of her works. Many of her works contain magazine clippings or excerpts from her diary, as well as beads, dried flowers and other upcycled material. Her work celebrates the diversity of femininity by exploring how society and culture have shaped gender expression and intimacy.
