Lemon Balm is a multimedia exhibition featuring works by Marissa Jezak and Jackie Valadez. Their artworks combine traditional and contemporary techniques to create an environment that reflects their complementary perspectives in the exploration of themes such as adolescence, transformation, and the role of kitsch and pop culture in the feminine identity. The visceral essence of the installation mentally transports the viewer to a previous time—somewhere in the melancholy, dystopian, suburban prairies of America.

Marissa Jezak (b. 1992) is an artist from Detroit. She explores themes of personal nostalgia and gender politics through a versatile studio practice that incorporates a wide range of materials, including many found objects and fabrics. In her work, she creates visceral forms and experiences that seek to investigate social constructions of femininity, intricacies of violence, and the use of art as a coping mechanism. Jezak earned a BFA with honors in photography, with a minor in critical theory, from the College for Creative Studies. She has completed residencies at Mother’s Milk and Nave Proyecto, and her art has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. She currently lives and works in Detroit.

Jackie Valadez (b. 1994) is an artist based in Milwaukee. She primarily works with 2-D works on paper and mixed-media sculpture, focusing on objects of play and the exploration of self in a quest for transfiguration. Valadez earned her BFA in New Studio Practice from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2019. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at Meow Moon (2021) at Rudimento (Quito, Ecuador), Perrita (2021) at Antes de Cristo (Hermosillo, México), Sower of Thistles (2021) at Dungeon (Detroit), Lábilmente (2022) at Biquini Wax EPS (Mexico City, Mexico), and Lux (2023) at Charm School Projects (New York, NY).