Getting to know the artist
Artist Statement
Jai Sallay-Carrington is a figurative ceramic sculptor creating works about human identities, behaviour and emotions using anthropomorphic creatures. Reflecting on their queer and transgender identity, Jai creates sculptures which uplift 2SLGBTQIA+ communities as well as challenge and analyze the dominant heteronormative and cisgendered society. They question the role that gender, sexuality and desire have in forming an individual’s character and placement within their culture. Jai’s sculptures speak to a feeling of otherness, but not necessarily of physical traits that can be immediately viewed by the public. These identities exist within, they are either shared or kept a secret. The zoomorphic qualities of their sculptures shed light on those human characteristics hidden from the naked eye. As each animal comes with its own unique qualities, as well as the myths and stories associated with them, when anthropomorphized, their addition to the human form creates a deeper understanding of that individual’s persona and experiences. Jai’s sculptures work to normalize and celebrate those 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals who do not fit into those strict societal norms.
Photographer: Lizbeth Poirier
Biography
Jai Sallay-Carrington (they/them) is a Canadian sculptural ceramic artist currently living in Vancouver BC. In 2014 they graduated from Concordia University with a BFA, and since then they have traveled around Canada, USA and Europe for artist residencies, to install exhibitions and teach workshops. Residencies such as C.R.E.T.A Rome in Italy, Tolne Gjæstgivergaard in Denmark and from 2023-2024, at Baltimore Clayworks, as the Lormina Salter Fellow. They have been a part of many group exhibitions, at galleries such as the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Henry Art Gallery, and the Clay Center of New Orleans. Jai has had several solo exhibitions, such as Growing Pains at Pottery Northwest, Trans Passions at Baltimore Clayworks Gallery, as well as Adapting, at Maison de la Culture Côte-des-Neiges. They have been featured in publications such as CBC Exhibitionists and Ceramique: 90 Artistes Contemporarian. Jai has been awarded grants from Canada Council of the Arts, SODEC, CALQ and was a finalist for the Winifred Shantz Award for 2020 and 2021. They earned master’s degree at the University of Washington in 2023, receiving the De Cillia Graduating with Excellence award.
