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Jillian Abir MacMaster

Photography, Visual / Media

I explore power balances and subversion through my work.

About the Artist

Jillian Abir MacMaster (b. 1995, she/her) is a Palestinian-American photographic artist from Frederick, Maryland. She holds a BFA in photography from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. She curated the exhibition Infinite Growth at the Frederick Arts Council in 2022.

Jillian Abir MacMaster website Jillian Abir MacMaster

Artist's Statement

Utilizing photography, scanography, and cyanotype, I explore themes of power balances and subversion. Through traditional photographic portraiture, I photograph subjects as a means of empowerment. To achieve the same goal for myself, I use alternative and experimental methods of photography, often creating grotesque or unnerving imagery.

Featured Work

Photos

Part of the series "Tata," ("grandmother" in Arabic) "Evening Ritual," Best in Show at the Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Curated by Leo Hsu, 2023
Part of the series "Tata" ("grandmother" in Arabic)
Part of the series "In Kid Years," exploring the complexity of childhood Best in Show in Cumberland Valley Photographers Exhibition, curated by Dan Leers, 2022
"With Teeth" exhibition on view at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD, 2022 "With Teeth" is a defense mechanism. It is an expression of invulnerability, protection, and survival, and is a direct response to being told to smile. The smile is massive, foreboding, grotesque, and odd, and creates a vast sense of unease. "With Teeth" presents a power shift between harasser and harassed. While this body of work directly addresses sexual and street harassment, it also addresses a broader experience of “womanhood” and the refusal to live up to certain everyday societal expectations, such as beauty, compliance, etc. Through its jarring imagery, "With Teeth" is intended to empower.
A grid of nine 8x8 in. photographs of white teeth on a black background. The mouths are smiling and laughing. Part of the series "With Teeth" on view at the Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD, Nov-Dec 2022.
Work created for Lady+ Hell zine, curated by printmaker Acadia Kandora. Lady+ Hell is a collaborative risograph publication that invites female and nonbinary artists to react to the Dobbs decision and explore what it means to live in a post-Roe world. Using the Farmer's Almanac as inspiration, this publication will give space for artists to react to the current climate.

Written Works