Catching Up with Festival Winner and Multi-Talented Jet Pariera-Jenks
Poetry, photography, music, hand-sewn greetings cards...multi-talented Jet Pariera-Jenks has so many strings to her artistic bow that when the Festival Blog met her for a chat it was difficult to know where to start! A supporter of Belle Vue Arts Festival from a young age, in 2021 Jet received its Judy Townsend Award, presented annually to the child who makes the most outstanding contribution. Now a teenager, she was joint winner of the 12-16 age group in this year's inaugural Festival Drabble competition and has recently staged an exhibition of poetry and photography at Shrewsbury's Swan Hill Studios. With such an impressive CV at such a young age, it was obviously time the Festival Blog caught up with this rising star of the local arts scene.
Festival Blog: Hi Jet! Your exhibition at Swan Hill Studios combined poetry, photography and the music industry. How did it all come together?
Jet: About ten months ago I started doing my Trinity College London Gold Arts Award ('A' level equivalent). Part of that involves 'showcasing your work so far'. The exhibition included poetry that I've written over the past year or so, and photography that I did mostly at festivals and at the Buttermarket in Shrewsbury. I tried to theme it around the music industry because it's an environment I absolutely love.
FB: How did you get started in these very different media?
J: I was probably about four when I started writing poetry. Well...what I wrote then, I wouldn't call it 'poetry' exactly, but it was certainly a start. With photography, my parents go to lots of gigs. At the Buttermarket they met Clive Padden, who's the venue's regular photographer, and mentioned that it was something I was really interested in. I've been there on a kind of apprenticeship for around a year now. I like it because live music is often very chaotic. You can't really stage or plan it, you've just got to be there and be fast enough to capture the moment. It's nice that it's a small venue and very personal.
FB: You also play music yourself?
J: I play two types of recorder, clarinet, saxophone and piano. The music I play is generally classical – Baroque era, plus some jazz and blues. But the music I listen to and photograph is mainly rock. They're two very different worlds.
FB: Your competition-winning drabble was very impressive. What's the story behind it?
J: Artists are often magpies. They recycle other peoples' ideas. With lots of my poetry I will think of a line or a phrase, or see a comment someone's made or something on some random YouTube video, and think 'I like that'. I'll write it down and revisit it later. The drabble came from an idea I'd had floating around for a while, which was that we all tell stories but we are all still part of the story. It's about people who are part of the story, telling the stories to each other because they can't explain the bigger picture of what's going on. But people can interpret it how they want. With poetry – and my drabble is really a poem without rhyme – I use metaphor to create something readers will find pleasing, but also I put in my own meaning which they may not notice. It doesn't matter. They can interpret it in their own way.
FB: What opportunities are there for young artists in Shrewsbury?
J: The Library, the Museum and the Hive run some great workshops. Beyond that, it depends what you're into and how proactive and independent you are. I mean, me and my parents, if there isn't an opportunity, we'll go out and make one. It can depend on how willing you are to mix with people who are older than you. At the Hive's poetry nights for example, I'm usually the youngest, but I've no issues with that and I'm always inspired by the wide variety of poetic styles. I also spent some time with [local animator] Andy McKeown. He pushed me to try new things and I got a lot out of it in terms of experimentation and combining different mediums.
FB: What did winning the Judy Townsend Award mean to you?
J: Anything I win means something to me. I never expect to win. It's always a surprise and it's always great. Looking back on winning pieces, noticing how my style is changing, it's a useful landmark.
P.S! Jet's cards can be found in the Bear Steps Gallery shop, Shrewsbury, or viewed on her Facebook page – Cottoned On Cards
