Work samples

  • Reasoning with the Inner Demons (detail)
    Reasoning with the Inner Demons (detail)

     2022, Suspended: 48” x 48” x 16,” Porcelain, gold lustre, salt crystals, wood, metal

    This is a detail shot of an installation. There are 5 wolves surrounding this one human figure and the whole display sits on a floating platform about 5' wide (an image of the whole display will be loaded into the projects section)

    Inner Demons exist in many people to varying degrees. They represent the internal struggles that only the host is aware of, bringing on self-doubt, depression or anxiety. This piece is a representation of attempting to reason with those demons, to bring logic to these moments of internal struggle. The demons come in the form of wolves, as these pack animals hunt in the dark and have always fed the nightmares of humanity. Ganging up on our minds from the depths of our unconscious.

    Available for Purchase
  • Emanation
    Emanation

    2022, 40" x 24" x 67" Soda fired stoneware, flashing slip, glaze, metallic paint, fabric 

    This piece uses the physical qualities of a deer to speak about gender identity and expression. As female deer do not have antlers, this female bodied individual has antlers emitting from their chest to express their unseen masculinity. This piece exemplifies how the artist feels more masculine than they appear. Their chest, bare for all to see, challenges the viewer to see past those physical traits associated to the feminine.

    Available for Purchase
  • In Tandem With time
    In Tandem With time

    2023, 40"x 24"x 56", stoneware, glaze, metal, wood, plaster

  • Wood Fired Rhino
    Wood Fired Rhino

    2024, 8" x 6" x 12,", wood fired stoneware, flashing slip

About Jai

Jai Sallay-Carrington is a queer and trans-non-binary artist from Canada. After receiving their BFA from Concordia University in 2014, they spent many years traveling around Canada, USA and Europe attending artist residencies, installing solo and group exhibitions as well as teaching workshops. Jai has been awarded grants from Canada Council of the Arts, SODEC and CALQ. They recently earned their master’s degree at the University of Washington in 2023, receiving the De Cillia Graduating with… more

Jump to a project:

Post Tomboy

This was my thesis project for my Masters of Fine Art, which was completed in Spring of 2023.

Communicated through clay, a material which expresses the malleability of the body and of the self, these sculptures showcase the complicated journey of understanding a gender and sexuality which exists outside of the cultural norms. Using personal narrative, these sculptures reflect the journey of growing from a tomboy at childhood to a queer and gender-non-conforming adult. Portrayed as animal-human hybrids and shapeshifters, these figures speak about queer experiences and deconstruct the notions of gender to find a place where non-binary identities exist. As each animal comes with their own physical qualities and mythological associations, therefore the therianthropic qualities of these figures shed light on a humanistic characteristic or feeling which is invisible to the naked eye. Queerness and gender identities outside of the binary can be isolating when existing in a heteronormative society. By sharing my personal journey, my work normalizes and celebrate these forms of identities.

 

  • OUT
    OUT

    2022, 32" x 38" x 6" Soda fired red stoneware, underglaze, glaze, gesso (with no cloud: 28"x5"x25") 

     

    The act and pressure for an individual to “come out” as anything other than heterosexual or cisgender is an absurd example of the heteronormative colonial grip on society. Coming out to one’s family and friends can be terrifying, and not coming out can feel like holding onto a big secret. It is a complicated feeling to acknowledge one’s true self to others in a society which has polarized and politicized sexualities. The figure is represented as a scarlet macaw, a bird which naturally has all the colour of the rainbow, reflecting the symbol of LGBTQ+ pride and support.

    Available for Purchase
  • Trophy
    Trophy

    2022, 16” x 18” x 51” Stoneware, wood, bronze paint, string

    Available for Purchase
  • Two Versions, One Self
    Two Versions, One Self

    2023, 35"x 7"x 16," stoneware, glaze

    Like many trans and queer who have not come out to their family, they often feel like they are living two separate lives, I know I did. This piece is an acknowledgement of the moment that those two lives are blended into one when I came out to my family.

    Available for Purchase
  • Alignment
    Alignment

    2023, 24"x 30"x 81," mid range stoneware, glazes, gold lustre, plaster, wood

    This life-sized piece references the new knowledge of knowing what kind of gender-affirming care is available. Knowing it would be possible to receive top-surgery and take hormones to better align me body with how I have always felt, was revolutionary for me. I never knew this would be available to someone like me.  

     

    Available for Purchase
  • The (Last) Unicorn
    The (Last) Unicorn

    2023, 24"x 26"x 75," soda fired stoneware, porcelain, lustre glaze, flashing slip, plaster, graphite, metal

    Referencing Peter S. Beagle's book The Last Unicorn, this piece links the queer experience to the unicorn's journey from this story. In Beagle's book, the unicorn believes she is the last of her kind, so goes on a quest to find the rest of the unicorn community. Similarly to many queers growing up, thinking they are not the last ones, but the only ones of their kind, they must go on a journey to find their queer community, to find the people that understand their lives and help them feel less isolated.

    Available for Purchase
  • Take cover (detail)
    Take cover (detail)

    2023, 24"x 24"x 8" (figure: 16"x 10"x 6") soda fired stoneware, flashing slip, plaster, graphite

    This piece is a physical manifestation of the fears and nervousness of beginning to transition my gender. Even with the certainty that this is what I want for my life, the self-doubt that constantly lives in the back of my mind holds all negative feelings associated with a big life change. 

    The only thing that cannot be seen in this image is that the graphite base is 24"x24" wide, and this piece its on the floor.

     

    Available for Purchase
  • Reasoning with the Inner Demons (entire installation)
    Reasoning with the Inner Demons (entire installation)

     2022, Suspended: 48” x 48” x 16,” Porcelain, gold lustre, salt crystals, wood, metal

    Inner Demons exist in many people to varying degrees. They represent the internal struggles that only the host is aware of, bringing on self-doubt, depression or anxiety. This piece is a representation of attempting to reason with those demons, to bring logic to these moments of internal struggle. The demons come in the form of wolves, as these pack animals hunt in the dark and have always fed the nightmares of humanity. Ganging up on our minds from the depths of our unconscious.

    (a detail image of the figure and the wolves interacting can be seen in the first images)

    Available for Purchase
  • Visibly Invisible
    Visibly Invisible

    2023, 8’8”x 34”x 39,” stoneware, glazes, insulation  foam, acrylic silicone, metal (pedestal: 44"x36"x25")

    The gesture that this large-scale sculpture is making is inherently rude and references a very gay act coming from a female-bodied individual. This piece is made in response a verbal homophobic attack that the artist received which happened literally on the font doorstep of the home they grew up in, a place that the artist never considered to be unsafe in any way in terms of homophobia. The Chameleon being an animal that blends into its surroundings, implies that queers exist everywhere, they live among the straights through all of society. The almost 8 foot long tongue in combination with the "licking V" gesture is a big "f-you" to those homophobic people out there who make queers feel unsafe for being out and visible. 

    Available for Purchase