Today we’d like to introduce you to Jasjyot Singh Hans.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have lived in Delhi all my life, and I can’t remember a time I was not drawing. Thankfully, my parents recognized it as a talent, and supported my dreams of one day becoming an animator. I did my undergraduate study in Animation Film Design from National Institute of Design, Ahemdabad in India. As I was working towards my thesis, I realised illustration might be a better path for me, since it allowed me to work with different clients over a shorter period of time.
After working in India for about 4 years as a freelance illustrator, including a one year stint at Sabyasachi Couture, I was starting to feel creatively quite stagnant. I decided to move to Baltimore for an MFA in Illustration Practice at Maryland Institute College of Art. Through the program, I worked on a lot of introspective, autobiographical work including comics and more experimental zines. After I graduated from the program in 2017, I continued to stay in Baltimore because it felt familiar and I had community.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been smooth in the sense that I always got commissioned work, but there were a lot of struggles, including ones in my personal life. I’m glad to be able to openly make work that is queer, which is something I struggled with when I was starting out.
When I moved to Baltimore, I knew no one. So it was a struggle (still is) to reach out to art directors and building a stable client base. Freelancing as an illustrator can be very erratic, and steady jobs are hard to come by. So over time, I’ve had to figure out ways to continue working in different capacities as an illustrator to supplement income as well as work on personal passion projects. Currently, I work within editorial and publishing fields, maintain a personal art practice that gets me gallery work, paint murals, self publish zines, do printmaking and try to remind myself every once in a while to have fun!
Another challenge since I moved to the United States has been the racism. It’s been heartbreaking to see the hate people harbor towards people from different races/ religious or ethnic backgrounds. It ranges from microaggressions people like me deal with on a daily basis, to a racial/ homophobic slur they’d say as they pass by. Sometimes it even manifests in physical violence, even in queer spaces. It’s hard not to let it get to you, or let it prevent you from actually doing what you’re supposed to do, or find ways to capitalize on my trauma by channeling it in the work. Diversity is normal, and the fact that people would go to absurd lengths to prove otherwise is what’s not normal.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work is influenced by a neon, explosive mix of fashion, music and popular culture. I’m very interested in creating work around my identity as a Sikh man, queer identities, body image, body positivity and sexuality. I love creating characters I don’t see much of in books, TV, film. I guess I’m most known for creating body positive characters wearing fabulous high fashion (or nothing at all!). Though I do take pride in what I do, I’m not the most proud person, because as Indians and freelancers, self-loathing comes to us naturally, but I’m working on giving myself more credit, more love and allowing myself to feel joy. I don’t see much representation of Sikhs within my industry, and I believe that my heritage, my upbringing and point of view set me apart from everyone else.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’m a person that finds it very difficult to ask for help. But I’ve been so humbled by how generous people in the industry have been with their help and advice, when I’ve managed to sum up the courage to ask them for it.
Another thing that has helped me has been my peers in undergad and grad school, and us peer-mentoring each other. Sometimes all you really need is another set of eyes on a piece and it can affect the outcome positively, so STICK TO YOUR TRIBE! Be willing to contribute to other people’s creative journeys as well, and that way you’re also letting them in on yours.
Social media is a great tool to network (especially since a lot of ways to physically network have limited since 2020), even if it’s just interacting with the posts of your favourite artists/ art directors.
Contact Info:
- Email: jasjyotsinghhans@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.jasjyotjasjyot.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasjyotjasjyot/
Image Credits
Adam David Bencomo
