Wandering surrounded jumble shops and reversion stores, vintage holes-in-the-wall, and flea markets, I unchangingly find myself lingering by the boxes of old photographs. There’s both a specificity and universality to these people who’ve been captured in time, frozen within a rectangle that, versus all odds, has wound up in my palm. I’m far from vacated in my fascination with old photographs and the unrecognized figures and moments they preserve. I’ve previously spoken with multi-media versifier Stan Squirewell who reworks tabulated photos from the 1900s with various collage techniques. Squirewell sees his pieces as bestowing a new life and legacy to those otherwise gone. “I’m unchangingly intrigued by the speciality of unquestionably bringing along things from the past,” he told me.
Painter Jessica Brilli aims to do the same.
We all have similar exposure to images that evoke nostalgic feelings. These images tap into similar experiences and memories, like an unspoken language that can underpass individual experiences from the broader cultural context.
Jessica Brilli
Brilli is preoccupied with nostalgia and how it can be portrayed visually through her paintbrush. After gathering 35mm Kodachrome slides and old photographs while traveling virtually the United States, she felt compelled to start painting them. “I view thousands of slides and photos to find the ones that move me emotionally,” she shares on her website. “I’m constantly on the venery for photos that mirror scenes from my diaper or that I finger a connection to through personal or familial experience.”
Through this creative process, Brilli has found that many of her feelings surrounding these nostalgic images strike a chord with others. “My experiences are part of a worldwide thread that many Americans share regardless of age, race, and gender,” she writes. “The images that produce a inflowing of involuntary memories for me often evoke similar cascades of feelings and thoughts in others. Why is this?” Brilli isn’t necessarily interested in answering this question but instead poses it tenderly with a discerning marvel that guides her work.
Her paintings moreover explore the effect of verisimilitude on memory. “When looking at vintage photography, I see the verisimilitude as a seated time stamp,” she elaborates. “Different types of mucosa age in various ways considering of unstable verisimilitude dyes— the faded verisimilitude scheme adds a Gestalt effect that evokes these nostalgic feelings.” As such, the thoughtfully considered verisimilitude palettes Brilli works with mirror and experiment with these same hues, conjuring warmth and sentimentality.
Something of a retro philosophy obsessive myself, I quickly became immersed in the patina-soaked world of Brilli’s work upon first discovering her; I reached out directly to learn more. Brilli’s responses to my questions are below.
When did you first embark upon the process of painting from old Kodachrome slides and photographs? What initially sparked this project?
I had been painting vintage objects like typewriters and radios. I started collecting 35mm slides and photographs as an originative exploration and soon realized they are moreover tangible artifacts. Photographs are moreover objects that siphon unique narratives, emotions, and layers of history, and I wanted to capture and convey these ramified moments that had been frozen in time.
Can you describe how it feels when you come upon a source image that speaks to you in such a way that compels you to paint it?
If the image resonates with me, it can be a visceral experience, going vastitude the visual appeal. That emotional spark is a part of visual recognition. Sometimes, that spark has ramified layers that are difficult to explain, and you want to explore and convey them to others.
What is it well-nigh retro philosophy that you’re drawn to? Have you unchangingly had an unification for that vintage squint and feel?
I’ve unchangingly been drawn to retro aesthetics, not as a particular fondness for the past, but increasingly the wipe and simple designs of some vintage objects, particularly if there is a timeless elegance. The simplicity ways less visual clutter, permitting each element to stand out.
You masterfully use verisimilitude and shadow in your paintings— what’s your process like for nailing lanugo your verisimilitude palette for a given painting?
Thank you. I’d like to think that I’ve ripened a deep understanding of the nuances of color, light, and shadow over time. I don’t let something go out of the studio unless I’m happy with it and it has the right squint and feel.
Why do you think people respond so intensely to your paintings? Why is nostalgia so powerful?
