Interview
Jade Cave
Jade’s passion for art has been with her since childhood. She was always creating, and followed that path into fashion and design.
Jade became a licensed therapist in the UK, working with young adults and adolescents. Art and therapy are both from the heart and mind, and she believes it’s impossible to separate them.
Always a world-traveler, Jade fell in love with America on one of her trips. Living in America has provided endless inspiration for her art, which has gained a lot of attention from U.S audiences. Her latest show was at The Evac in East Village Manhattan, New York City.
Jade wants her art to have meaning, to connect with concepts from her therapeutic background, and stay relevant to our times and historical moments. To that effect, she uses words to create images, drawing from inspirational speeches and quotes, past and present.
Jades SUBTEXT series is intended to remind us that we all live with a multitude of emotions, feelings and messages lying close to the surface, hidden from the naked eye of the casual observer – until you care enough to look closely.
What is your background and how did you start your journey?
“I studied textiles at school and loved it; the different fabrics, how they moved, and what I could create from scratch. I loved that I could make my drawings come to life. The wall hanging I made was one of my first creations, inspired by dance, which is yet another way in which I express myself. I wanted to combine expression into my work.
I loved creation so much, I decided to go to fashion school in 2007, falling even more in love with the creative world. I enjoyed studying works by the great artists of our time, visiting artistic cities like Milan, Barcelona, and many more, losing myself in the moment of where their creation started, and how mine would begin.
The art world became my world. Everywhere I went, I looked at architecture, fashion, culture, and nature, seeing patterns, colors and shapes that became my work. During my studies, I created dresses, trousers and a kimono. Seeing my work come to life at the end-of-year fashion show made me want to create more. I won the young retail designer competition in London during my final year at fashion school, and went on to study person centered existential therapy. During my studies, I learned a lot about myself and the human form, which inspired me to become a full-time artist. Now, within my work, I link expression and meaning, creating art using words. I am a word artist.”
What inspires you most?
“My inspiration comes from so many sources: my background, travel, buildings, nature, culture, color, great artists of the past like Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Mattie, and many others.
Ultimately, looking at a blank canvas and knowing that I can create whatever I like is the best inspiration.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“My work comes from emotion, using words of icons to form their faces, or using words to form an image to express a message. Words are very powerful. I also like to take things from the media and put them into art form. I create images out of world famous moments and people of our time. I like to use the strength of words to get the message across. When looking at my SUBTEXT work from afar, you don’t see the words. It’s only until you move closer and really look that you see the message within the image.”
“Art can be looked at in many forms. I look at my work as success in overcoming learning difficulties.
I hope that when others see my work, they can feel the power in themselves to overcome whatever it is they might be battling in life.”
How would you describe your work?
“My art work is created out of language, and it has many messages from my background. I started using words to create my images because of my dyslexia. I was ashamed that I couldn’t spell or read, and that language was my enemy. Instead of hiding my dyslexia, I chose to face and overcome it by creating artwork out of words — something which I now call a gift. My work also gives different messages to different individuals, depending on the subject or point of view.
My work comes from the heart. I pour my heart in every piece and take great pride in creating it. Even though it takes time and dedication to form my work, I enjoy the process. And it gives me great pleasure to share my work with the world.”
Which artists influence you most?
“There are many great artist of our time. One of the most influential for me is Frida Kahlo, with her strength and her paintings which are a reflection of herself. Her paintings are very touching, and I find it inspiring that her physical pain didn’t stop her from creating. Instead, she used her pain to tell her story, and created her message in her work. She influenced me to create work with meaning; work that has a story to be told. Work that shows you something new when you look at it, delivering a different message and understanding each time. This is what I aim for in my work — that every time someone sees a different word or phrase within my work, it will make them think more.”
“Art is everywhere. Without it, our planet would simply not exist. Art began with the creation of our world, to the creation of life, and to the creation through life.”
- Jade Cave
What is your creative process like?
“I start by feeling. I consider what icons have inspired me, what news has made me happy or unhappy, what message I want to give out, and what my favorite word, color, animal and things are. After I’ve found the feeling I want to express on paper or canvas, I choose whether to paint the background or not, depending on what I feel would represent a stronger art piece. I then draw and start adding the words, poems, and text of choice to my art piece. I like to create in acrylic and mixed media, where I use gold leaf and fabrics to create a feeling of difference. The message I’m sending out through this is that it doesn’t matter how different one is; we all shine together to create a perfect combination. If we all were the same, it would be a very dull and boring world.
I also use photography to express meaning. As they say, a photograph can say a thousand words. Being lost in a photograph is also one of my favorite ways of finding other means of creation and expressing emotion.
Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that tells the bigger story.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Art is everywhere. Without it, our planet would simply not exist. Art began with the creation of our world, to the creation of life, and to the creation through life.
I take something in life and transform it into my art as a way to project how I see things. I give others a different view of creation. That is what I call art.
Art will always be evolving in our society to give hope, meaning, courage, justification, understanding, happiness, joy, and so much more. It simply isn’t possible to live without art.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I was represented by Hudson-art-deco during my latest exhibition in New York City at The Evac, where my work was reported to be the star of the show. I gained a lot of interest from this exhibition, and it boosted sales and awareness. It was a great pleasure to be able to share my story through my art. I look forward to doing more art shows and being able to share my work with many more people.”
