Light me up Very Blue is a work from an ongoing body of works categorised as 'U-Shapes," a connected series of intermedial works that utilise distinct semiotic visuals to identify, upend and communicate the inaccessibility disabled people navigate in conventional social environments. Mikell uses the repetition of abstract mathematic symbols and visual uniformity to explore what it means to belong, what it means to be Autistic and what it means to be worthy.

Jade Mikell

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JADE MIKELL is a disabled artist and activist working within institutional critique. She cites her lived-experiences in an Anthroposophic community and undergoing ABA therapy to identify, upend and communicate the demoralising and endangering effects of institutional inaccessibility. Mikell's work has been exhibited by Visionary Projects NYC, the Audain Gallery, Esquimalt Art Gallery, the Denman Island Arts Centre, B.L.O.C.K.H.O.U.S.E. and more. Her most recent solo exhibition, Tender Feet, opened earlier this year at the Fifty Fifty Arts Collective in Victoria BC. Her work has been published on ArtConnect, Parrot Art, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and more. Mikell is the recipient of an Innovate Grant 2024 Honourable Mention. Upcoming honours for Mikell include invitations to residencies at Hektor on Lanzarote and Casa Lü in México City, and group exhibitions in México City and New York.