The work of Miami-based multidisciplinary artist Jillian Mayer examines media, the future, and the ways in which the former is leading us, sometimes absurdly, into the latter. Its biting humor tends to border on the bizarre.
Known for both her own work and her collaboration with the Miami Film Collective, Borscht Corp., Mayer got her start at Locust Projects in the Miami Design District before becoming one of the city’s best-known (and wittiest) creatives. One of her latest projects, 400 Nudes, which premiered at the Montreal Biennial last October, featured Mayer’s head superimposed onto four hundred naked or scantily-clad women snapping mirror selfies. It was a fitting follow-up to Selfeed, a site Mayer created with Erik Carter and Tyler Madsen, to function as a kind of aggregator, collecting and showcasing any images hashtagged “selfie.” The definition of authenticity, with regard to our personal and collective identity, might be changing, and Mayer captures these shifting patterns of self-reflection both blithely and wisely.
It makes sense, then, that when selected to create a cover for Niche Media —Ocean Drive’s publishing parent—Art of the City initiative, she focused on one of her biggest inspirations: the computer. With Art of the City, Niche Media has curated all eleven of its city-specific summer magazine covers to feature emerging artists in each location. In addition to Mayer’s designing a cover for Ocean Drive, she is one of nine artists to donate an artwork for charity, via Charitybuzz.com. Mayer’s donation will benefit Locust Projects and coincides with an event celebrating her cover on Thursday, August 20, at W South Beach.
The cover and its accompanying article, in which Mayer expands on her practice, is live on https://oceandrive.com/meet-artist-jillian-mayer and available on newsstands now.
Written by Dejha Carrington and Monica Uszerowicz
Credit David Castillo Gallery
