Work samples

  • “Noise Cancellation Headphones”
    “Noise Cancellation Headphones”

    Oil paint, 36x48in, 2024. Depicting time spent in my room, this work conveys my introvertedness when I disassociate from everyone. I experimented with translucency to show a passage of time. 

  • “My Baby Is Not A Baby Anymore”
    “My Baby Is Not A Baby Anymore”

    Depicting my close relationship with my mother, this piece reflects on moments spent together in the past, while confronting the growing physical distance between us as I’ve gotten older. I am now a college student and I have left home. In response to these changes, my mother keeps repeating, “my baby’s not a baby anymore”.

  • “Lost Files”
    “Lost Files”

    Getting older and becoming a young adult has come with a loss of innocence, a loss of childhood memories and childlike ways. This work shows me sitting with my younger self in a distant memory, while my younger self is fading away. 

  • “Spades”
    “Spades”

    At any and every family function, there is a spades game happening. We play not only for the competitive nature, but to stay in touch, connect with one another, and catch up on each others lives. 

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About Jada

Baltimore City  

Jada McAliley is a young and dedicated visual artist with a background in a variety of artistic mediums including graphite pencils, oil paint, and B&W film. The main concepts explored in her work are the complexities of her relationship with family and relationship with self, in relation to her black identity. She captures the small intimate moments shared with family members in her work. In works pertaining to her relationship with self, she depicts personal moments through the use of… more

View Jada's Resume
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Family: The People Who Love You Endlessly

My portfolio expresses close familial relationships through portraiture and self-portraiture by depicting the complexities of relationships with my family and relationship to self. Each piece delves into deep emotions and interactions I share with family members. Simultaneously, it explores my psyche and personal moments with myself. I invite the viewer into each scene in order to show a positive and relatable depiction of black relationships and experiences. My work aims to show black people experiencing regular humanly feelings, growth, tensions, and complexities. I am drawn to the subjects of black familial relationships because my family values and emphasizes the need for each other, staying in touch, and learning our history. Each piece forced me to break out of my traditional art making processes and experiment with repetition, texture, collage, and movement. 

Works like “Noise Cancellation Headphones” and “Vent Session” have repetition of my figure to convey that I am my own family. I have a sense of independence whilst being among my family. The work “Sunday Relaxation” shows a personal moment in my room. In “Pillow Fight" and “Noise Cancellation Headphones”, I created movement with translucent limbs and figures to display the passage of time during an intimate moment. Artworks “Get the Kirby” and “Pillow Fight” highlight lively experiences with my sister that I cherish, utilizing vibrant colors to include the viewer in the moment. “Spades" includes the viewer and displays a core game that draws my family closer together. “My Baby Is Not a Baby Anymore” conveys my relationship with my mother, but confronts realities with myself. “Errands” uses collaged paper introducing a different mark. “Errands” and “Nostalgia” reflect on things I used to do with my mom as a child. The work “Gel and a Rat Tail Comb” emphasizes the journey I’ve had with my hair; taking the practices I've learned from my mom and applying them now.

Throughout all these works my individual identity as a young black girl shines through, but also my identity in relation to family. Overall, these works convey the importance of the relationships I share with family and self.
 

  • “Noise Cancellation Headphones”
    “Noise Cancellation Headphones”

    Oil paint, 36x48in, 2024. Depicting time spent in my room, this work conveys my introvertedness when I disassociate from everyone. I experimented with translucency to show a passage of time. 

  • “Vent Session”
    “Vent Session”

    Graphite pencil, 18x24, 2023. This work shows me confiding in myself. I am an introvert so I spend a lot of time alone. Within this time I dissect my thoughts and reflect on things that have been on my mind. This piece depicts me venting to 2 other figures that are myself. 

  • “Sunday Relaxation”
    “Sunday Relaxation”

    Oil paint, 18x24, 2022. In this work, I experimented with colors and lighting. It depicts me relaxing and winding down in my room away from everyone else. 

  • “Pillow Fight”
    “Pillow Fight”

    Oil paint, 24x30, 2023. Highlighted within this work is my playful relationship with my sister. I used vibrant colors and dynamic poses to convey this. I also experimented with translucency to show a passage of time. 

  • “Get the Kirby”
    “Get the Kirby”

    Oil paint, 24x36, 2024. This work highlights my relationship with my sister. One way we have always bonded is through gaming. We are depicting in an arcade playing the claw machine. 

  • “Spades”
    “Spades”

    Oil paint, 22x30, 2023. At any and every family function, there is a spades game happening. We play not only for the competitive nature, but to stay in touch, connect with one another, and catch up on each others lives.

  • “My Baby Is Not A Baby Anymore”
    “My Baby Is Not A Baby Anymore”

    Graphite pencil and collaged photos, 30x40, 2023.
    Depicting my close relationship with my mother, this piece reflects on moments spent together in the past, while confronting the growing physical distance between us as I’ve gotten older. I am now a college student and I have left home. In response to these changes, my mother keeps repeating, “my baby’s not a baby anymore”. 

  • “Errands”
    “Errands”

    Collaged magazine paper and colored ink, 28x42in, 2024. This work highlights mundane moments that I share with my mother. As I’ve gotten older, there has been a growing physical distance. These small moments are times where we can still spend time together and bond.

  • “Nostalgia”
    “Nostalgia”

    Graphite pencil, 18x24, 2022. 
    Addressing my close relationship with my mother, this work discusses the nostalgia felt towards distant experiences shared with my mother. As a child, I would sit in my mom?s legs as she did my hair. Although this no longer happens, I depicted us sitting together as she helps me take down my braids. This work highlights the nurturing nature of my mother. 

  • Gel and a Rat Tail Comb
    Gel and a Rat Tail Comb

    Needle and thread, 6x6in, 2024. My mother and aunt have taught me how to take care of, style, and learn my hair. This journey with my hair is conveyed in this piece as I put the finishing touches on some braids that I did on myself by doing my edges. 

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