Roski junior tells stories through her art

Jacqueline Andrews is a self-described people-person. “Mirror,” her new exhibition at the Roski School of Art and Design, showcases a large collection of portraits of faces she has encountered, each with their own story. 

Andrews said she wanted to convey each subject’s personality through her art portraiture.

“I was originally inspired by Yoko Ono’s ‘Book of Instructional Paintings,’” Andrews told the Daily Trojan. “She has one that was called ‘Mirror’ and the instructions said to use other people as a mirror. I was thinking about that when I decided to do this project where I would draw people from life, and they would draw me simultaneously.” 

Andrews, a junior majoring in art and cognitive science, is one of four artists featuring their 2-D art in the Fall 2019 Lindhurst Exhibitions. The Exhibitions will feature artists who specialize in 2-D, 3-D and 4-D work. Throughout the semester, artists will present their work so that fellow colleagues, students and faculty to engage with their art. 

Andrews has been working tirelessly on this project since the summer, stating that her love for people drove the inspiration behind her work. Andrews said she has always been someone who values relationships with family and friends. For her, one of the joys of life is getting to know someone new and finding commonalities with one another. 

“I got home this summer the first day of July, and I started working then, and it was kind of a full-time job all summer,” Andrews said. “There’s 105 pairs, so 211 portraits here, including my self-portrait. Each one of these probably took like three hours plus an hour trying to coordinate and set up.”

When asked why she wanted to take on such a huge, time-consuming project, Andrews said, “One of the reasons I wanted to do this is because I am very people-oriented, I’m very extroverted, I love being around my friends, I love talking to people, meeting new people.”

Although she worked tirelessly on “Mirror,” Andrews’ ultimate passion is, of course, people-oriented. Her mission is to teach others the joy of art through children’s art classes during the summer and to teach high school students during the regular school year. 

Andrews volunteers at “Inner-City Arts,” a campus in Skid Row where schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District who don’t have art classes or the funding for a program take their kids.

Andrews has the desire to encourage others to pursue art as she was highly supported by her parents, who would give her an abundance of art supplies. 

With her love for teaching others about the arts, Andrews also hopes to offer her services in art therapy. “I would love to keep applying my art skills to my career,” Andrews said. “I’m interested in doing therapy in this case, art therapy, because every person that I’ve worked with said it was very refreshing and relaxing. It’s a good way to get out the stress of their day..”

Andrew’s “Mirror” is on display until Sept. 12 in Watt Hall.