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 is integral to my practice. These 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 is an interdisciplinary artist and teacher. She received her BFA from Emmanuel College in 2014 and graduated from the low-residency MFA program at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2021. Jillian works across media, describing memories of her past experiences. She is also a dedicated art educator, teaching art to middle school and high school students in Boston.
