Guyanese are known to be multi-talented and extremely expressive. This is epitomised through the life of one of our Local Musical Artistes known as ‘Jackie Jaxx’. Born Jackie Hanover, Jackie Jaxx became a household name for her powerhouse vocals sometime in 2011 when she made her debut on “GT&T’s Jingle and song Competition” and she hasn’t stopped accelerating in her music career since. One of her more popular songs is the song “Guyana” in which she serenades our beautiful land and evokes patriotic pride in the hearts of all Guyanese. One surprising detail about her that many of her fans do not know, however, is that Jaxx not only possesses power vocals but also has other remarkable artistic abilities.

The Pepperpot Magazine reached out to the songstress after finding her Instagram page ‘itsjaxxart’ where the artist posts several pieces of her custom drawings and paintings. She explained that this ‘hidden talent’ has always been a part of who she is since she was a child adding that throughout high school she followed her talent and love for visual art and even went on to pursue it as a subject for the CXC examination.

“I always had a talent for the arts, so that’s drawing, painting, poetry, singing, I kind of did it all, because I was in love with it. I was in love with the idea that I could have a way to express myself and my feelings without always having to use words. So from a very young age, I was always sketching stuff. At one point, I even ended up making my own sketch pad because sometimes we couldn’t always afford to buy art supplies, but I loved doing it so I kept at it and I made a way,” Jackie said.

She noted, however, that her greater love was to be a musical artist and in light of that fact, she focused more on perfecting that art form more than her visual art. She said that although she paid more focus to her musical artistry, she never lost the love she had for visual arts.

Jackie stated that she now has balance in her musical career and has started making the time to enhance her other artistic abilities. She stated that added to that fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed her a little more free time to be able to follow her craft and has even influenced her to share her art through her social media platform ‘itsjaxxart’.

The artist said that she uses her skill and artistry as a way of expressing herself and as a way to bring awareness to how she feels on several social issues, especially the ones that are being widely discussed today such as abuse and trauma, the Black Lives Matter movement, and treatment of women. She stated that she would never shy away from bringing awareness to these topics through her music and even through her drawings and paintings.

“I’m a very expressive person. I’ve always liked to express myself. I was even big into writing poetry so yes, visual art also gave me another channel through which I could actually express my emotions and my feelings,” she said. “I feel there are so many things I want to say, about what is happening in the world, what is happening to women, and what is happening to afro-centric people, and I can’t always bring myself to say it because there so many emotions behind it. Sometimes I can’t find the right words to say, so painting and drawing is a way of expressing myself, a way for me to get my feelings out.”

Further, Jackie said that she encourages anyone to get involved in the arts, stating “It’s not all about being super talent or gifted, art isn’t always about being able to show someone something nice or pleasant, sometimes it’s about expressing your true self, what you feel in the moment, and I believe that everyone should have the chance to experience that freedom.”