Meet our 2023 Feature Artist: Tajliya Jamal

Meet Tajliya Jamal(they/them)! Feature Artist for #ISF2023.

Tajliya Jamal (they/them) is a queer, mixed-race printmaker and comics artist based in Vancouver, BC. With an emphasis on storytelling, pattern, and maximalism, they work experimentally between printmaking, animation, painting, and collage. Their work often uses patterns and iconography drawing from their Cantonese and Muslim-Indian background in tandem with images and texts that queery bodies. They like to use book forms and print media as it is a more accessible art form for viewers and readers, and often collaborative in practice. Taj graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in 2019, and has since led artist talks and workshops, had their illustrations and comics in local publications, and was awarded a BCAC mentorship grant in 2020. Here’s what curator Anoushka Ratnarajah has to say about Tajliya:

“Taj felt like the perfect artist to work with on this year’s theme of inter/dependence. Their style of illustration, their use of collage and maximalism has a sense of warmth, play and intensity that I felt really resonated with the programming this  year. This stunning illustration reflects the lush, vibrant and connected feel of an ISF event. And I was so moved by the beautiful depiction of chosen family, cultivating a sense of comfort, tenderness and joy. I’m so grateful and delighted that Taj created such beautiful work for all to see this summer!” -Anoushka Ratnarajah, Curator