Baltimore artist Jainson Cedillo paints identity, culture and self-acceptance
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(photos courtesy of Cedillo)
Baltimore-based artist Jainson Cedillo, 23, says fully embracing his identity through his artwork has been an evolution. Once mainly producing graphite pencil illustrations, Cedillo now makes paintings using bold patterns and Ecuadorian cultural symbols that pay homage to his heritage and intersectional self-identity. His work weaves together distinct parts of himself, giving viewers a glimpse into his stories of growth, Latine culture and self-acceptance.
Cedillo says he continues to deepen the nuance behind his work, even through the smallest details, like the inclusion of native Ecuadorian insects. Embracing his identity has led him to learn Spanish, connect with his family and get comfortable with himself. In his artwork, Cedillo’s openness about his sexual orientation, for instance, is symbolized by rainbows. They coexist in his work with Ecuadorian colors and familial personal narratives.
“I didn’t really know who I was until very later on in life,” Cedillo said. “You’re Hispanic, but what does that really mean to you? Where do you place in that culture? I didn’t want to feel like ‘other.’ I wanted to feel like myself.”
Now earning undergraduate degrees in art and art education at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, outside Baltimore, Cedillo also hopes to be an art teacher one day, aspiring to foster an open learning environment in which young art students can explore their own artistic journeys.
Read more about Cedillo in our interview below.
How did your earlier days influence your career?
I lived in Jersey. I lived there for like 12-13 years. That’s where I learned English, that’s where I learned Spanish. So my identities started there, and they just blossomed once I moved to Maryland, transformed with my art as well.
In the beginning … I drew people; nothing really connected. But once I got good with it … I was like, boy, I should add my culture, my colors, my flag and things like that in my pieces.
You mentioned that your heritage and sexuality are woven into your work. How would you say you accomplish this, and how is it presented within your art?
In my previous works, when I was younger, it was just myself. The works I made recently, they’re not about myself. They’re other people’s identities and cultures, but usually connected to me somehow. I have a connection with everyone I’ve drawn, like my mother and my partner. They all have a story with me. They are my identity as well, because we build culture together.
What is it specifically about portraiture that is compelling to you?
I think pop culture and music has really developed that a lot. Album covers are usually portraits. It tells a whole story. Whenever I see an album cover, my brain starts thinking of what I want to do in my own way. They’re very eye-catching portraits. It’s a very traditional, old style of art. I’m just making it in my unique, newer way.
Are there any specific album covers or artists that have had an impact on you?
I would definitely say the “Melodrama” Lorde album cover. That’s the first album cover that’s an actual oil painting by this artist. But then, some of the very bold and very simplified, like Charli XCX’s “Brat” cover. It tells you the whole story for the artist if you know their background. And then another one…it’s not really an album cover, but it’s a poster of Taylor Swift from her Eras tour, and it has a lot of colors. It has a bunch of portraits, so that also drives me a lot with my work.
You are pursuing degrees in art and design, and art education. Why do you think it is important to open up youth to the art world? In what ways would you like to develop your classroom?
I want to let them choose what they want to make. If you make it targeted towards them…it just makes them have more fun with it. So definitely letting them choose what they want to make, letting them learn, letting them fail, because that’s how I learned. I failed. You learn, and you get up, and you do it again and better at it each time.
What do you hope to convey to others through your own unique work?
Making the viewer learn. One of the biggest things I always think about my art are the viewers. What are they going to see first during their first time seeing the work, and how are they going to respect it? I really think about the viewer … and their learning from that experience.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
– Story by Valeria Lopez
– Copy edited by Valerie Izquierdo and Kami Waller
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