Bio:
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Jessica Just is an artist and educator living in Waco, Texas. She received her BFA from Baylor University and her MFA from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Jessica is currently in her fourth year of a tenure track appointment at Temple College in Temple, Texas, and currently holds a seat on the board of the Texas Photographic Society. In addition to participating in multiple Presentations at the Society for Photographic Education Conferences, her work has been exhibited nationally, and can be found in Private collections. During the academic year, her day to day consists of consuming countless audiobooks and podcasts while commuting to work, teaching both studio and online courses, grading, emailing, and more. Outside of school, you can find Jessica consuming reality tv - accompanied by her dog Phoebe. She is a big fan of collecting tiny bottles from antique stores, propagating plants, and coming in a solid 5th place in Mario Kart. 
 
Artist Statement:

Much of what interests me has to do with storytelling, with place, familial lore, objects, and personal mythology. In recent years, I have been questioning the southern cultural, religious, and societal traditions and expectations that have surrounded me since I was young. I have long had a fascination with things both beautiful, misunderstood and strange all at the same time. You cannot look away, or maybe you just don’t want to. Staged moments and still life images contain glimpses of people, text, intense color, food, plants, and objects in primarily domestic environments. This work functions as a way to work through and talk about my own relationship with desire, with navigating being a woman in the south, and the specific time in America we are living in. I was raised to welcome anyone to my table and feed them well. I was raised to be kind, but sometimes at the cost of making myself small.  This sweetness can serve as an excuse, a lure, a sparkling gem that then stuns you and blinds you. I grew up being told that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Honey is golden, pleasing, smooth. But it is also sticky, like quicksand for the tongue. Maybe sometimes, we need all the vinegar we can get.

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