Bio
Jaina Cipriano is an experiential designer, filmmaker and photographer, exploring the emotional toll of religious and romantic entrapment. Her worlds communicate with our neglected inner child and are informed by explosive colors, elements of elevated play and the push/pull of light and dark.
Jaina writes and directs award winning short films that wrestle with the complicated path of healing. Her second short film, “Trauma Bond” is a dreamy, coming of age thriller that explores healing deep wounds with quick fixes, it took home the grand prize at the Lonely Seal International Film Festival.
Jaina’s photographic works forgoes digital manipulation, everything is created for the camera. She takes an immersive approach to working with models, approaching a shoot like a documentary photographer as her subject is let loose in a strange designed space. Working with Jaina is often described as cathartic and playful. Her photographic work has been shown internationally.
Jaina is the Executive Director of the Arlington International Film Festival and the founder of Finding Bright Studios – an experiential design company in Lowell, MA. She has collaborated with GRRL HAUS, Boston Art Review, and was a Boston Fellow for the Mass Art Creative Business Incubator and a finalist in EforAll Merrimack Valley.
Description
These photographs are of worlds built with my own hands. The concept of how space affects internal life is central to my process. Fabricated spaces or events have a theatricality that thrills me. This work connects us, reminds us we are never alone in the intensity of our emotions.
When I am doing a self portrait I follow my instincts, ending up messy and exhausted. But that is where the transformation happens – I am different than I was when I started. Then the image must be shared. The audience is important – once I am witnessed, the transformation is solidified.
I grew up in a fundamentalist Christian cult and was kept separate from the world. The camera became a way to embrace that separation. Through the lens I was able to begin reintegrating myself in the world.
I put a piece of myself into these photos for others to see. If we can’t see ourselves reflected back in the world around us, how can we figure out who we are?
Creating these works puts me in new pockets of my mind, connecting me to who I am without the heavy influence of my past. I am mapping the darkness of my psyche, illuminating areas and eliminating fear.
The cult kept me in a vacuum and without human interaction all I had was the space around me – I played pretend a lot as a child. Now I build my own spaces, ones that reflect my inner state and make me feel safe.
Trigger Warning
