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Poet and artist Jzl Jmz’s childhood bedroom in South Central Los Angeles wasn’t anything glamorous. Actually, it was just the living room of her and her mother’s one-bedroom apartment with a bed in it. But decades later, the humble but beloved space has formed the basis of Jzl Jmz’s (pronounced “juh-zell james”) fine art exhibition ROOM-innate, on view Aug. 9-Sept. 27 at Ori Gallery.
ROOM-innate will consist of five sculptures—her bed, couch, television, computer and her mother’s sewing machine—in addition to collage. It’s “the womb where her trans-womanhood began,” the gallery notes in a statement.
It’s Jmz’s first solo gallery show, though she has been participating more and more in visual arts after establishing herself as a poet. (Some in Portland’s ballroom scene may know her as Lady Tournament, and she has published poetry under the name Jayy Dodd.) Her third book of poetry, Local Woman, is set to be published by Nightboat Books in 2025.
“The book is about being a woman in Portland, my transition, and navigating life in this exterior way,” Jmz says. “This exhibition is the inverse of that. It’s going back to my womb-self and why I make the art I make.”
Jmz, 32, remembers her childhood bedroom being a rest space, a creative space and an informational space, plus a little lonely. She spent lots of time imagining herself on Broadway stages and movie screens.
“I can see that all of my work stems from sitting in my room thinking about myself,” she says.
After her early childhood in L.A., Jmz went to boarding school in Connecticut and then Tufts University in Massachusetts. Her mother is flying in from Washington, D.C. for the closing reception Sept. 27, which will include a multi-generational poetry reading with Jmz, her mother, and Jmz’s daughter.
GO: ROOM-innate, Ori Gallery. 4038 N Mississippi Ave. oriartgallery.org. 1-5 pm, Wednesday-Saturday, Aug. 9-Sept. 27. Free.
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