Jamie-Lee Girodat completed a BFA at the University of Lethbridge and an MFA in Printmaking at the University of Alberta. Her interest in genetics, mental health, and blobbly things informs her practice in print media, drawing, and animation. She has presented work across Canada and has exhibited internationally in Finland, Poland, Armenia, the United States, Puerto Rico and Japan. She is a recipient of the Joseph-Armond Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship- Master’s (SSHRC-CGS-M) and a two-time recipient of the Alberta Arts Graduate Scholarship. She has taught at the University of Alberta, the Pierre Lassonde School of Fine Arts at Mount Allison University, Alberta University of the Arts, and the University of Calgary. When she is not teaching, she plans community programming and events with Alberta Printmakers and has been brushing up on her softball skills.

As an isolated child, I plucked away at the new hair sprouting from my armpit, desperately clinging to my youth. I thought about the aches and pains my parents complained of and pondered; would I still swing on the monkey bars? Or would I face the same fate? Ironically, I sat plump on the bench every recess, scanning the jungle gym, trying to fathom the concept of being an adult, let alone the possibility of having children of my own. As I squeezed the oil off my face and caressed the stretch marks on my inner thighs, I feared the beginning of many awkward and unnerving stages, wondering if I could get ahead of my ever-transforming body.

My work longs for bodies that are free from uncertainty. Milky fireworks, sprouted hair, creases and moles create a visual language of the infected and in-between aspects of the body. By embracing fragmented and evolving figures, I maneuver narratives informed by the potential relief of biomedical innovations. Yet, navigating the hype, benefits, and ethical impacts of these developments can be challenging; and for many, access is out of reach. 

Through grimy yet playful spurts and spasms, ambiguous forms transpose and bewilder the hierarchal elements of the material body. Pining to dismantle constraints and fears, my work attempts to enter a state of renewal and possibility. Between the lines of unease and intrigue, it welcomes peculiar sights of throbbing bunions and wobbling dances. It greets the genetics of the past and envisions the beings of the future. Visceral plops, dribbles, and folds remind us of our corporeality but subvert rules of the established order. By embracing figures in a constant state of flux, I transgress boundaries and reimagines medical realities.

Perhaps the monkey bars will not always be within reach,

but

there is always the tire swing.