Jody Sehn Schmidek

she/her

Resilient, stringy, strong and focused, she quietly goes about her business. Often misunderstood and underestimated, she knows the value of evidence, dirty hands, and the power of diversion. She deals in connections; humbly building, nurturing, healing as she operates. Although content to remain undiscovered, she is as powerful and formidable as Haraway’s Medusa. 

To survive the climate change crisis, humans will have to learn to “become with”—to bridge gaps and forge partnerships with all sorts of fellow inhabitants in the cracks of our damaged planet. Perhaps we need to change our mindset and look at our world more like children do. Curious, compassionate, and nonjudgmental, they are all about entangling themselves with their human and non-human earthly neighbours and seeing beauty in rejected, undervalued companion species. Maybe they are the heroes we need to follow—protagonists that are humble, creative, and stringy enough to change our path and continue our story. 

Using a variety of materials including charcoal, collage, gel transfers, acrylic and oil paint, my work explores ecological themes and the mindset that humans will need to embrace in order to transform and ultimately survive as a species.

instagram @jodysehnschmidekart