Artist Spotlight: Jessy Nite
Sophia Ballesteros, Art Muse Lecturer
I first met Jessy Nite in January of 2023 when I was still working for the late Bill Brady. One day I hurriedly turned the corner into the office running late and I was greeted with the booming bark of Jane, a long-legged, doe-eyed pitbull with brown and white spots. She was, of course, accompanied by her owner, Jessy, who sat cool as a cucumber, discussing bringing her latest artwork by the gallery to photograph. “It’s way too big to shoot in my studio. I had to stitch it together in parts while I was making it. You’ll see!” she told me as we arranged a visit.
A few days later, in came Jessy with a 102” tall by 175” wide ruby red paracord tapestry. The vertical lines of paracord were knotted together intricately with the top half reading "Meet me there" and the bottom half "in the open air," inverted. It was a commission for AMI Paris in the Miami Design District, where the piece currently lives on view. I couldn’t begin to imagine the process of combining text and knots at any scale — let alone at 14.5 ft long — but Jessy had it down to a science. “Please tell Bill thank you again,” she said and kindly invited me over to her studio sometime — an invitation which I happily accepted.
When I arrived at her home I was once again greeted by Jane, who let me pet her this time, as well as a big hug from Jessy. Stepping into the studio, it was hard to believe that this was where she had produced the massive tapestry that I had seen before. Paracords of all colors were present with words of affirmation like "Safe Space" and "Hold Tite" knotted into smaller tapestries. Along the long wall was a peg board with works in progress and opposite to that were maps of knot patterns. It’s unsurprisingly a lot of work to calculate how and when knots come together to form legible phrases (both in print and cursive text), so Jessy schemes digital layouts mapping knot by knot. It is tedious to say the least. While known for its use in climbing, boating, and other outdoor activities, paracord’s range in color, design, and functionality lends itself to take on many patterns and shapes. Jessy’s research on language, typography, and visual writing systems also plays a role when weaving together her chosen material. Much like programming through a series of numerical values, plotting intricate patterns of knots produces a narrative within the material itself.
Reinvigorated by a recent trip to Machu Picchu, Jessy learned about the ancient Incan knot system known as quipu which dawned a new perspective on her contemporary knot-making practice. In thinking about how knots in tandem can visually produce language in the form of letters, Jessy is also interested in exploring how the knots themselves can convey meaning. In the quipu "language" system, various types of knots and their respective complexities, as well as their placement in relation to one another retain numerical value typically utilized for recording quantitative information. Other factors like color and size can also be attributed to differences in knot significance. Perhaps the most well-known modern-day use of the quipu language is that by Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña who is known for works such as Cloud-Net (Quipu Austral), 2012 and Palabrarmas, 1984, which emphasize the power of words (both implicit and explicit) as well as the ephemerality of life, language, and environment.
The phrases seen across Jessy’s work are all conceived to evoke feelings of nostalgia and survival. The utility of the paracord in combination with the chosen text plays deeper into the ideas of what our daily means of survival look like in today’s world. While on one hand words like "Endure" and "Retreat" may recall feelings of trials, tribulations, and fear, they may also remind us of our resilience and self-preservation. Jessy tends to gravitate towards more positive expressions of shared human truths. Usually fairly short in length of phrase, the viewer is prompted to assign their narrative to the work with nudges of color, time, and place also contributing to their own personal interpretations.
Beyond paracord, Jessy is also known for her shadow installations - sculptural artworks activated by the sun. Casting shadows of text such as "In Your Eyes I Come Alive" and "Like Paradise," these shadow installations can be found in public spaces throughout Miami as well as New Jersey and Vienna, Austria. The time of day and season of the year are relevant factors as to how visible the work may be. The summer months give longer shadows, and the morning sun versus the afternoon sun shines differently. Unlike other text-based artists, there is something to be said about the transitory nature of Jessy’s shadow pieces, as if to remind us of the fleetingness of life’s precious moments. Powered by the sun, our observations of these works are contingent on time and place, making each experience truly unique, and the fact that the composite whole of the work can never be the same from moment to moment.
As of late, Jessy has been most focused on researching techniques to innovate her already impressive textile practice. While experimenting with object modification of furniture and functional accessories, she is also diving into the world of three-dimensional textiles. In fact, Jessy has just recently completed a residency at the Penland School of Craft located in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. I truly admire her dedication and respect for her craft. The intricacies and calculations behind her textiles are certainly not to be taken lightly, yet, Jessy is always looking to improve and refine her multidisciplinary practice.