DISSONANCE

MAY 14-JUNE 27TH--RECEPTION MAY 30TH 4-6PM @ ARTSPACE GALLERY 221 CENTER STREET BLOOMSBURG PA

Jermaine Johnson has been an artist his whole life. He is primarily an oil painter, wire weaver, and fiber artist and was educated at the Art institute of Philadelphia. His current exhibition "Dissonance" is dedicated to his late mother Tanya, who passed away late 2023.

the work that makes up DISSONANCE derives from the idea that history doesn't just stop at what you want to know, but existence is a web that sometimes doesn't make sense in the moment.

"you exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you," as a certain vice president said.

Themes of media, spirituality, race, history, popular culture brainwashing, emotions and tragedy are a catalyst to bear witness and make some sort of context from what he knows as an artist to be true; that Everything is connected through the ether. The scrambled vintage television set test patterns, the sometimes stark and macabre imagery and nostalgia are meant to be unsettling, because it is a privilege to not have to think about such things. the hope is to spark a sense of curiosity as to how each image may fit together in context.

Jermaine's work has always spanned painting, fiber art, fashion/jewelry and media. his materials consist of water mixable oils, paper, synthetic and natural fibers/barks, semi-precious stones and copper wire along with whatever else sparks an idea. Using such diverse materials is indicative of the contradictions in dissonance. it is a thrilling experience to figure out how each medium can logically fit together.

A gallery is below with titles and short inspirations.

video killed the radio star Buy more, watch us, no empathy, only the screen. Stare into the screens. We know what's best for you.	apprehensive He can see the patterns before everyone else.	CONDITIONED YOUTH Originally inspired by a poem that imagined being a child whose mother is mad at them but they don't know why. I imagined myself in the 1980s in front of the television set while the world around me was insane. The real teacher, preacher, and reaper of what we have sown. The mother opens his bedroom door to find him sitting very exposed to television programming and conditioning.
THE TOWER CARD I painted this a few months before my mother died, (unknowingly). I thought, "you are painting a tower card..." This is the moment everyone knew that we weren't in Kansas anymore. The world became more hard and less fuzzy like a vhs tape.	TRANSHUMANISM Billionaire bad guy Peter Thiel believes in an idea called transhumanism, which focuses on overcoming death and achieving radical human enhancement through aggressive technological and biological innovation. This image is from the Fembots created by Dr. Franklin on the Bionic woman in 1976	THUNDERSTRUCK WHOA!
LACHRYMOSE What has the world become?	UNCANNY He is blown away by how uncanny what he is seeing is. His reality starts to become unreal, starting with color.	RUBY'S RIDGE I am very inspired by the kids who had to endure hell for me to have had the freedom to learn as i please like it is normal, because it wasn't for so much of American history. That is why the authority figure is scrambled like the rest of the society around Ruby Bridges at the time..and that is what inspired me to play on the Ruby Ridge incident from the 1990s. The incident became a rallying cry for many militia and supremacist groups.
DOOM SCROLLING No matter where you fall on the debate around these wars, the unprecedented carnage fed into our minds through the algorithm as if it was normal, is not in fact normal. I saw this image and drew some clear parallels	OVERSTIMMY this piece may go without explaination	APPLE PIE A girl from a lynching photographed plucked from history and put into the degenerate world of soft core skinimax degeneracy. No less perverse than the world she was a part of.
DISSONANCE This painting is in response to the death of my mother and how it didn't feel real for the longest time.

DISSONANCE

video killed the radio star

Buy more, watch us, no empathy, only the screen. Stare into the screens. We know what's best for you.

apprehensive

He can see the patterns before everyone else.

CONDITIONED YOUTH

THE TOWER CARD

I painted this a few months before my mother died, (unknowingly). I thought, "you are painting a tower card..." This is the moment everyone knew that we weren't in Kansas anymore. The world became more hard and less fuzzy like a vhs tape.

TRANSHUMANISM

Billionaire bad guy Peter Thiel believes in an idea called transhumanism, which focuses on overcoming death and achieving radical human enhancement through aggressive technological and biological innovation. This image is from the Fembots created by Dr. Franklin on the Bionic woman in 1976

THUNDERSTRUCK

WHOA!

LACHRYMOSE

What has the world become?

UNCANNY

He is blown away by how uncanny what he is seeing is. His reality starts to become unreal, starting with color.

RUBY'S RIDGE

DOOM SCROLLING

No matter where you fall on the debate around these wars, the unprecedented carnage fed into our minds through the algorithm as if it was normal, is not in fact normal. I saw this image and drew some clear parallels

OVERSTIMMY

this piece may go without explaination

APPLE PIE

A girl from a lynching photographed plucked from history and put into the degenerate world of soft core skinimax degeneracy. No less perverse than the world she was a part of.

DISSONANCE

This painting is in response to the death of my mother and how it didn't feel real for the longest time.