Multifaceted and adaptive local St. Louis artist and RACSTL-grantee, Mee Jey, uses an array of mediums and approaches that all circle back to one main theme: community.
Through her art, Mee Jey invites the community to let go and take part in different forms of creative expression. Her approach comes from her experience in small villages in rural India, where she says, visual art, singing and dancing is not just for artists, they are a part of everyday life.
“When I say everyday life, that means everyday life. We celebrate certain days of the month, and we sing songs about those certain days of the month. We make a lot of murals or floor paintings or small paintings on paper and leaves – and that drawing, painting, singing, dancing is just everyday thing,” Mee Jey said. “I never saw it art out of life, in a white cube space, in a very sanitized, very controlled, formal space.”
Making art accessible, part of everyday life and part of community is a huge part of Mee Jey’s practice.
One of Mee Jey’s many community projects is Artologue: Art for All, which she started with her husband in 2013. It is focused on logging travel through art and this project encourages people to dive deep into their imagination to create something of fantasy.
“I had to devise different ways to tell people things like, ‘You can’t use a brush; you have to paint with your hands,’” said Mee Jey. “This helps them let go of the idea of art being a very delicate, very professional activity. It encourages them to do it in whichever way they feel.”
Her latest project is a striking nine-by-thirty-foot art piece titled “Nadee/Nadi” (the word ‘river’ in Hindi/Sanskrit) made from upcycled fabric, which she is using her RACSTL Artist Support Grant to finish.
Mee Jey in her home studio with her latest work, Nadee/Nadi.
“Having financial support from a RACSTL grant goes a very long way,” said Mee Jey. “Whether you are an artist or not, in any career, getting financial support means they see promise in you, they trust that you will do justice to the opportunity you have been given, and I just really appreciate that.”
Some of Mee Jey’s other recent works include a public sculpture feature colorful cables titled “US: United Sapiens” which was co-created with community members and Veterans Community Project staff and volunteers and “Cape of Continuity”, a community-based participatory performance commissioned by Pulitzer Arts Foundation where more than 70 community members helped complete the cape.
As for artistic influences, Mee Jey has quite a few who inspire her with their use of materials and scale, as well as inclusion of community – Louise Bourgeois, Mrinalini Mukherjee, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sheila Hicks, Olafur Eliasson and Anish Kapoor are among some of her favorites.
Mee Jey was also a 2020 graduate of the RACSTL’s Community Arts Training (CAT) program, which trains artists and community members to create and sustain arts programs that promote positive social change.
“When I heard [the CAT cohort] talk about how they approach their own community based on their gender, sexual preferences, religion, politics, or creative interests, I gained a broader understanding of American culture,” Mee Jey said. “Throughout the one year we spent together, I could see how to employ more than one approach in my own practice, which has enriched many of my recent projects.”
Around 2014, she developed carpal tunnel from drawing extremely large-scale fine line pieces and her doctors suggested she stop drawing, but Mee Jey views what are seemingly setbacks or challenges as opportunities and creates ways to work these constraints into her practice.
“I am very adaptive, because every challenge that I face, I direct my practice accordingly, so I don’t fight with things,” Mee Jey said. “I see it more as a hint.”
This mindset carried her from drawing to sculpture. In this new practice, she was utilizing resin and hard metals but with a new pregnancy, her doctors recommended she move away from these materials, moving her to start using repurposed fabric.
“Every challenge that I faced, I took as ‘Okay, time to move on, time to develop a different approach to my own practice,’” said Mee Jey.
Though her approach changes the central idea is the same, community engagement and storytelling guide the art.
“I think every time I’m faced with a challenge, I try to see it as a sign of the direction I should develop myself in, rather than hitting a wall,” Mee Jey said. “My practice is very, very adaptive. It is all rooted in my cultural understanding of material life, community, creative expression, and storytelling.”
In the spirit of community, Mee Jey also welcomes anyone to drop by her home studio to donate fabric and materials they are no longer using. You view her current work and upcoming projects on her website and keep up with her on Instagram.
Follow Us On Social Media