Bio
Jessalyn Mailoa was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Glass and Graphic Design, and studied psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Afterwards, Mailoa moved to Norfolk, Virginia, to join a studio assistantship program at the Chrysler Museum of Art Glass Studio. Currently, she is a studio assistant at the Belger Glass Annex in Kansas City.
artist Statement
My work explores narratives that occupy the space between my identity and my surroundings. This space is often the home of intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts that I encounter as a Chinese Indonesian woman living in the United States. These conflicts include a longing for belonging, an attempt to manage acculturation, and an endeavor to combat marginalization. Through expressing these matters in my work, I strive to evoke empathy in the viewers and invite them to form a personal connection with my narratives.
I mainly work with glass because I am interested in the parallels of this material to human nature. Much like people, the qualities of glass exists in duality; glass is fragile yet resilient, moldable yet rigid, familiar yet unpredictable. This analogy influences my work as I use the properties of glass to explore human experiences surrounding my culture, gender and disabilities.
