Jasmine Forcadilla, a Central Coast-based Australian-Filipina artist, was born into a family of creatives and has been immersed in the arts from an early age, always finding comfort and expression through making. With a background in digital media and fashion, she remains captivated by pop culture, the fleeting nature of trends, and the power of storytelling.
As a mestiza (person of mixed race), Jasmine uses art as a medium to explore and navigate her cultural identity, an ongoing theme in her work. Her continuing series on “animal personas” draws from the richness of individuality and the layered complexities of identity. Playful and often satirical, her work highlights the imperfections of humanity through irreverent details and animal-like characters imbued with human traits.
Influenced by film, eclectic interior design, and fashion, Jasmine’s paintings investigate the fluid interplay between species and self. This is particularly apparent in her exploration of “Therianthropy”—a Greek term meaning “animal-headedness”—which she uses as a metaphor for the multifaceted and diverse nature of the human experience.
