Behind the Image is an ongoing MODELS.com series taking a more personal look at both established and emerging creative talent. Produced by Carolina Orrico and Irene Ojo-Felix
courtesy Jezz Hill
Jezz Hill, makeup artist
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Based: Brooklyn, New York
How would you describe your work? What’s your trademark?
My work is heavily inspired by nature and art. I see it as colorful compositions with obsessive attention to detail.
How did you get into your chosen career?
I’ve always loved painting and drawing from a very early age. As a kid, you couldn’t take me out of my room. I didn’t care about summer or playing outside, all I ever wanted to do was paint, draw, listen to music, watch movies and learn about art and my favorite artists in different disciplines. When I was 15, I was very interested in music and very inspired by performers such as David Bowie, Siouxsie Sioux, Marilyn Manson, among others. I used to recreate their looks on myself and do makeup on my friends all the time. After I finished high school I went to culinary school because I thought cooking was creative and fun and I could make a living. After a while, I came to the realization that cooking was not my passion. That’s when I quit everything and went to makeup school at the age of 26. And since then, I’ve never stopped doing makeup.
What other jobs have you had?
I was a cook.
What do you love about what you do?
I love that workdays are never the same, I love meeting interesting and creative people and traveling. I love how transformative and powerful makeup is. I love the storytelling side of makeup and fashion.
What has been one of your favorite projects to work on?
A Beauty story for Vogue Portugal. We shot it right after lockdown for the “hope issue”. It was cellular and organic, the makeup was completely inspired by nature and its ability to heal itself. It’s still one of my favorite projects, it brought me a lot of joy during a very dark time.
How has your heritage played into/inspired your work?
What inspires me and pushes me forward at work and in life is the resilience of my Latin American identity. I’m very proud of my roots but also excited about breaking the mold. It’s interesting because my name doesn’t reflect my Latin heritage. And I don’t look like the stereotypical Latina. But I was born, raised, and lived in a Latin American country for most of my life. I only moved to the US when I was 30 years old. I think that breathes a lot of life to the fact that Latinx people are not all the same. We are richly diverse.
How has the pandemic shaped how your approach your creative process?
During the lockdown, I went back to basics. I rewatched all my favorite movies, I watched all the classics from Fellini, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Polanski, and many others. I got very inspired by iconic figures and styles from years before our time, I’ve been wanting to bring a bit of that nostalgia to my work. I’m currently working towards capturing that feeling a bit more.
Are there any Latinx talents to watch out for?
That’s a very important question, I think that there is an alarming lack of Latinx representation: from creatives to models and this issue goes beyond fashion. It’s in the media as a whole. Here is the thing, Latinx people are constantly being stereotyped. Expanding the view of what it means and looks like to be Latinx not only would create more opportunity, but it will also allow more stories to be told and capture the richness and diversity within our community.
Selected Work
Ava Ferguson by Johnson Lui for Documental Journal
This is one of my favorite looks, I just love the visual effect and the color palette. The polka dots were inspired by the socks Ava was wearing.
images courtesy Jezz HillAweng Chuol by Ruo Bing Li for Numero Berlin
The concept of this shoot was inspired by the poem “Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson.
Olivia Beeken by Laura Okita for Beauty test
I’m really in love with the textures and soft tones of this story. We shot it in Laura’s apartment and we were all women working on this project. Super fun day!
Bomi Youn by Ruo Bing Li for Vogue China
First time I shot for Vogue. I will always treasure that moment. The whole shoot was inspired by the color white, which represented quite a challenge since most of my work has color and contrast in it.
Unia Pakhomova by Ruo Bing Li for Vogue Portugal
We shot it right after lockdown for the [September] “Hope Issue”. It was cellular and organic, the makeup was completely inspired by nature and its ability to heal itself. It’s still one of my favorite projects, it brought me a lot of joy during a very dark time.
