In ‘Speak of the Devil’, twin artists Haylie and Sydnie Jimenez craft a world that feels like a beloved memory come to life. Through ceramics and mixed media, they channel the folkloric phrase — once tied to summoning the diabolical — into an expression of care, connection, and presence. The exhibition, opening on August 9, 2025 at Joy Machine in Chicago and running through September 20, 2025, unfolds like a living conjuration, where material becomes magic and familiar faces spring to life in clay and glaze.
Raised in the American South and now grounded in Chicago, the sisters meld the narratives of these distinct geographies into tactile storytelling. Sydnie’s dimensional sculptures and totemic heads stand like guardians down city streets, while Haylie’s etched panels — tiles, inlay tables, and crafted scenes — trace stories of kinship and culture. Their shared aesthetic — rich in tattooed bodies, piercings, and a punk-infused grain — highlights the beauty and resilience of their chosen communities.
What’s especially compelling is how the Jimenez sisters turn simple domestic objects — tables, lamps, tiles — into sites of radical tenderness. Architectural and gothic motifs echo within gargoyle-like forms and tile inlays that feel both protective and intimate. In the intersection of functionality and ritual, these works invite new imaginings of safety and belonging, grounded in community rather than dogma.
Ultimately, the exhibition weaves a narrative thread of joy, defiance, and re-envisioned ritual. By “visualizing a world of radical acceptance, pleasure, and endless joy”, the artists don’t just depict their communities — they build them, piece by piece, glaze by glaze. In a culture that often overlooks queer, Black, and brown kinship, the Jimenez sisters’ work insists on presence and visibility, conjured through art that glows with warmth and intention.
More info: Haylie’s Instagram, Sydnie’s Instagram.
