Jillian Vaccaro
MFA ’21 Fine Arts Low-Residency
My art is an exploration of my long-term memory with a focus on familial relationships. Each work functions as an emotional response to my past, fabricated to depict the fragility and loss that permeates the act of recollecting. Before I begin a new work, I situate my mind in a previous time. I bring myself to this place through writing, reminiscing with loved ones, navigating through souvenirs and familial archives, and revisiting significant environments from childhood and my adult life. When I arrive in the past mentally, I respond with my materials intuitively. The use of personal souvenirs are integral to my practice as they function as objects of remembrance and assist my recollections. I share intimate parts of my personal history so that others may feel connected through a similar sense of vulnerability, appreciation, loss, and reflection in their own life.
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Jillian Vaccaro received her BFA from Emmanuel College in 2014 and is currently an MFA candidate at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Jillian is an art educator and committed to creating an environment where students feel valued, challenged, and appreciated. Jillian works across media describing memories from her past experiences. Growing up in a close-knit family, Jillian creates using familiar objects to share parts of her personal narrative through her art.
