Mississippi State University undergraduate researcher and psychology student Zoé Ishee recently opened her solo art exhibition “Discourse,” which will be displayed at the Starkville Area Arts Council until Nov. 4.
Ishee, a name familiar to those immersed in the Starkville area art scene, has significantly influenced the city’s art. Ishee also founded Mississippi State University’s own Neuroscience club, branching together her love for the arts and science — a unique combination that makes her art unlike any other.
A native of Brandon, Miss., Ishee combines visual art and science literature in her pieces. Often, she portrays various characters and figures in conversation with each other in her art, whether through word or expression.
“I love exploring the world through my understanding of art, but most particularly, I love to communicate science through my strange lens,” Ishee said. “I use science and literature to best understand myself and people around me. I like to know why things work, it helps me to accurately appreciate that I am a human being that gets to engage with others. I reflect this idea in my art since my art is usually my refined stream of consciousness. I like to be funny and facetious about how intense it all is once you understand it.”
In “Discourse,” Ishee’s pieces do exactly that — converse with each other and open up new layers through stream-of-consciousness writing and visuals.
“I wanted people to consider their role in ‘the conversation’ and to be encouraged to experience art through open-mindedness,” Ishee said. “Engaging with art in that way myself is something that’s changed my life for the better.”
Ishee said art has been a big part of her life for as long as she can remember.
“It feels like drawing is my oldest friend,” Ishee said. “I can’t recall a time where I wasn’t very viscerally attracted to drawing in particular. Over my life, drawing helped open the doors for me to use my curiosity to explore so many other skills and parts of myself.”
While Ishee has made a name for her artistic expression, she has also explored and made breaks in the scientific world, combining two opposite ends of the academic spectrum. Recently, she received the Office of Research and Economic Development Undergraduate Grant and worked as a graphic designer at the Mississippi Entomological Museum on campus.
On Sept. 20, Ishee introduced her solo exhibition, “Discourse.” Two receptions were held, one at the Union and one at the Starkville Area Arts Council, where the exhibition is currently set up.
“I wanted to make a solid new collection that summed up my new ideas and aesthetics regarding connection,” Ishee said. “I love to be playful, relatable, and free with presentation. We did a weird photoshoot to advertise for it where I’m something of a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ character. The marketing itself is a commentary.”
A senior at MSU, Ishee has furthered her study of the arts and science and has extended her area of influence in her time at the university.
“My time at MSU has changed my entire life for the better,” Ishee said. “I’ve been exposed to countless opportunities through the people I’ve met here, such as the MARS art residency I was able to attend due to meeting student Joseph MacGowan. His father, who owns the residency, works at the Entomology Department. Being able to learn from so many people and about so many things, with so many people willing to hear my ideas and make them happen, has made my art what it is.”
While Ishee has made great strides in the community, she is all but done. Plans for the future include expanding more ideas in her work and even a one-off showcase.
“In the future, I’d love to continue breaking the fourth wall and being peculiarly honest in my work,” Ishee said. “The next place my art will be is in the Cullis Wade Depot for a one night only showcase, it’s a reflection from my class trip for Art 3801 to New York. I plan to continue designing, experimenting, and thinking out loud.”
