JAINA CIPRIANO

JAINA CIPRIANO (SHE/HER) is a Boston based artist communicating with the world through photography, film and installation. Her works explore the emotional toll of religious and romantic entrapment.

1) What kind of process went into organizing “Infinite Mirage”? What were some of your biggest considerations with this project? 

IMOR is a curation pulling from three separate bodies of work from 2017-2020. It is a journey through codependency. 

2) How did your relationship with art and artistic expression begin? 

Growing up in an oppressive religious environment I wasn’t able to express how I was feeling in a safe way. Early on I turned to art as a way to cope with my distress - drawing, painting, writing, singing - as long as I could do it in secret. As I grew older I became restless and the work wanted to become bigger, it wanted an audience. 

3) As a photographer, tell us about your favorite approach to your art and why it calls to you. 

I approach each shoot like an exorcism - an exorcism of feelings. I approach each shoot like I would directing a scene from a film, finding the core and moving out from there. It’s a powerful space for subversion, playing pretend and unleashing whatever is captive inside you. 

4) In your bio on your website, you wrote about how your work explores the emotional toll of religious and romantic entrapment. Can you expand on why you gravitate toward this focus? 

I make work about the places I am stuck in. Eventually the work becomes a road map and I am able to move onto the next phase. It’s a beautiful process.

5) Where do you look for inspiration? How have your inspirations evolved over time? 

I study media a lot. I watch TV, movies, theater and pay attention to where my heart jumps into my throat - and then I write about it. What made me feel that way? How did they accomplish it? How could I make others feel that way? 

6) If you had to sum up a message/lesson behind your recent work in one sentence, what would it be? 

If you have ever dreamt of rescue, I’m sorry, but you have no other option than to save yourself.

7) What is “ART” to you? 

I think of what David Lynch said - “The art spirit sort of became the art life, and I had this idea that you drink coffee, you smoke cigarettes, and you paint, and that’s it. Maybe, maybe, girls come into it a little bit, but basically it’s the incredible happiness of working and living that life.” 

8) What has been the most challenging part of your journey as an artist? And what has been the most rewarding? 

Being on set for Trauma Bond, my last short film, was the happiest I have ever been. Immersed in a world I created during quarantine, working with the most incredible crew, I felt like I was in the right place. Starting a business is a big challenge - some days it feels like there are nothing but walls around me and other days it feels like I have a dozen puzzle pieces in my hands and I just need to figure out where they go. It’s thrilling. 

9) What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring artist?

Become okay with never being satisfied with your work - it’s part of the process. The insatiable appetite for more, for better, is good. Use it, keep working. Fall in love with the process and your work will thank you. 

10) What’s next for you? 

I am focused right now on growing my design and fabrication company - Finding Bright Productions (@letlightfindyou). We create props and sets for TV and movies. My next short film Trauma Bond will be out this fall, I can’t wait to share it with the world. I will be teaching a set design workshop at LTC in Lowell for their Media Makers Festival this August. I also have a big, immersive show at Boston University this fall where I am showing my work and building interactive spaces. Come out and see it!

Contact Jaina at jainacipriano@gmail.com