PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) – Pike County native Jordan Justice began his art journey in Elkhorn City as young child, doodling on notebooks and lockers as early as he can remember.
That vision grew into something larger over time, as he works to make time for his passion while also juggling a family and full time job in the Somerset area.
From his first mural, a pop-art rainbow scene painted in Pikeville, the artist has sprayed his visions on different types of canvases all around the region. But he never expected his part-time passion to lead him to splash some color in South America.
“Using that ability has always been my mission but now I feel like I’m at another level,” he said.
Justice was one of 14 artists invited to Brazil for an art festival, adding his own work to a large mural in Novo Hamburgo. There, he said he was able to work and network with other graffiti artists for the first time, with the help of a translator.
“This project was crazy. It was almost like a movie playing out,” he said. “Everybody was so nice, so friendly.”
The event, produced by Rafael Jung with 5ª GALAXIA ARTS, showcased the artists and allowed them to collaborate on a large black wall.
“And [Jung] shares the exact same mission that I do: to help his community, share heritage, the history of the area. It’s the same person in a different area,” said Justice. “So, to have the chance to go over and work on something with him was awesome.”
Justice’s piece- an astronaut floating through space- is meant to represent his own journey as an artist, just existing and exploring with no exact or finish line in sight. The mural, like his others, also includes the names of his children and wife. He said leaving a piece of himself for the locals to enjoy and interpret is something he will never forget.
“It’s kind of just me as an artist on this adventure to Brazil and what it has taken to get there. To me, it’s like traveling through space,” he said.
Even with the language barriers, Justice said the trip was more educational and exciting than he can explain, helping to reignite his desire to use his colorful expression for community engagement.
“Art is so universal. They would say something in Portuguese, explaining what they’re trying to do, or show me, teach me something, and I can completely understand it. Have no clue what they’re saying, but it’s just that universal language of art,” he said.
His son Jett was also included in the trip, allowing them to take on the culture and collaboration together. He said he also took 500 stickers and a shipment of @JordanJusticeArt shirts to Brazil to sale in order to offset costs of the trip, but when he started meeting the families and community members, he just began handing them out to the people he encountered.
“It kind of ignited something inside of me,” said Justice. “Community is everything. And if you can create something to bring the community together? That’s the goal. That’s the main thing.”
So, the first thing he did when landing home from his trip was add more color back to the place where it all began.
Justice discounted and donated some of his time to paint a mural in Elkhorn City Elementary School, allowing his dream to come full circle.
“You always dream big when you’re a child and you kind of lose sight of that dream,” he said. “Because when I was in school stuff like this didn’t happen. And I wanted the kids there to know that if you dream big enough, it really will come true if you follow through.”
Now, he hopes to keep the fire burning and bring larger plans and paintings to the area, fueled by the lessons from the artists he worked alongside in Brazil.
“We live in a very rural area. And you see all of these big events and huge mural pieces that draw so much attention to the area. Which has kind of been my goal the whole time. How can I create something so big? Not only just the daily life of driving to work and seeing something that kind of brightens your day a little bit, or opens your eyes to thinking in a positive way,” he said. “Hopefully, this year, I’m going to create something that will help the community and bring several people together.”
You can follow his Facebook or Instagram to see the artist in action.
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