Meet Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn | Artist, Activist, Curator, Educator, and Founder of SPANKBOX. ATL

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica Elaine, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
SPANKBOX founder and curator is local interdisciplinary artist, activist, and educator, Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn. Blinkhorn refers to this project as her cathartic child. SPANKBOX was started after Blinkhorn began researching the incidences of sexual assault in the disabled community after her own in May of 2022. “I was floored by the numbers of sexual assaults in the disabled community. I thought, ‘why is no one talking about this?’ I truly believe that disability and sexuality should be talked about more openly and in an inclusive way. I can’t help but to think that if our community were allowed to be seen as dimensional people who are innately sexual, the number of assaults would not be as high. When you tell someone they can’t have something or wanting it is wrong you make it taboo, you make it sought after. People, sometimes, will stop at nothing to get what they want and when you objectify an entire community some people will not respect the individuals right to say ‘NO!'”

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
SPANKBOX. ATL is a photographic installation project featuring individuals with varying disabilities in sexualized and, sometimes, hyper-sexualized poses and situations. SPANKBOX.ATL asks the “for now” non-disabled community to reevaluate their preconceived notions regarding disability and sexuality while providing them with a safe space to investigate the disabled form and ask questions free from judgment and societal shaming. In return, we encourage those entering the installation to engage in a conversation with our SPANKERS (those depicted inside of SPANKBOX. ATL) by answering a question provided through the images shared with the public. SPANKBOX. ATL places disabled sexuality in the forefront and allows those curious to self-educate and engage in an authentic and compelling conversation to implement change and, hopefully, lessen the numbers of sexual assault in the disabled community.

What sets SPANKBOX.ATL apart is its celebration of the disabled body! Every person involved in this project is beautiful, determined, proud, unique, and unapologetically themselves. I feel that there is a level of expectation placed on our physical bodies that is meant to only inspire able-bodied individuals and remind them of how thankful they should be to not be us. SPANKBOX. ATL gives the middle finger to those ideologies because we have never been prouder to be more imperfect!

I am extremely pleased by how this project has been received. The majority of people come in to see the images expecting to be shocked and find that the images are fairly benign and simply represent human interaction. Quite frankly I feel those entering the installation who are not disabled are more taken aback by being confronted by their own lack of thoughtfulness regarding basic human needs of intimacy with all forms.

I know it’s difficult to acknowledge what you don’t understand. It is important for myself and others in my community to put ourselves out in the world the best we can and welcome questions without taking personal offense. We need to educate the “for now” non-disabled community and give them access to a better understanding of living in a disabled body while trying to navigate a world that favors an able-bodied society. We need to steadfastly remind the world that our fight for equity, equality, and inclusion will be their future fight. Disability comes for us all. It’s not a question of how, it’s a matter of when.

I spent the majority of my life apologizing for my perceived shortcomings that have been defined by my weight, my economic status, my physical beauty, my gender, and my mobility aids. I believe many of us in the disable community share this practice of apologizing. I’m exhausted with I’m sorry. I’m not sorry that I am disabled. I am sorry that due to societies lack of thoughtfulness and regard for people with disabilities we continue to struggle in our existence. I am sorry that society feels we don’t deserve equal pay, the right to be married, the right to own a home, the right to work a job with equal pay, and the right to save money so that we may one day be able to bury ourselves. If there were true social empathy then we would have allies shouting with us that we deserved those basic human rights and there wouldn’t be levels of exclusionary practices still at play hidden behind every job application and every bank account investigation. It is time for the disabled community to be respected and if you were truly inspired by us then more of you would fight alongside us instead of exploiting us for swipes and likes. Do better because we know what we deserve and we know what we are capable of accomplishing! We didn’t pick the CRIP life…the CRIP LIFE PICKED US.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, when I’m not inundated by the many responsibilities I have taken on, I like to put on a cute little crop top and some jeans shorts, hang my JBL speaker off the back of my wheelchair and stroll the BeltLine while listening to music because life is just better with the soundtrack. During the warmer months you can find me navigating the partially accessible urban landscape of Atlanta making my way to the Flat Iron in EAV to grab brunch with my friend, Amy, followed by a cup of coffee at Joe’s. Hopefully everything aligns perfectly and on the same day I can catch an artist market that features some of my favorite Atlanta artists, Fever Collective! Lastly, if there is a concert in town I pray that it’s going to be held at the Eastern which is located on Memorial Drive mere blocks from my home. If you are a person with a disability and you’re ever in Atlanta wanting to catch a concert, always check the Eastern – they’re accessibility is fantastic and their staff is always willing to assist and accommodate their disabled patrons!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many people that I would like to thank but I will start with my community which begins with my family. Growing up in Marietta, GA with my sister and brother who were also wheelchair users living with the same condition I live with today, my community began and ended with them. There is a very subtle but distinct difference when you have siblings and then you have siblings who share a genetic disease. The connection by blood and disorder is one that can only be explained as a connection that goes beyond spoken language it’s an internalized understanding of born confinement. With the passing of both my sister and brother between the years of 2008 and 2012 I began to pull myself away from associating with other people with disabilities because it was too painful a reminder. It was enough to look in the mirror and see myself in this chair still living without them beside me.

For many years I lived with my own internalize ablism and then the pandemic happened. With great clarity and a renew sense of self, I began to realize that I no longer wanted to paint pretty pictures. I wanted ,moreover, needed to be able to speak up for myself and others in my community while I still had a voice to be heard.

Once more, I want to thank my community which begins with my family.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Community Corps Atl for funding the recent installment of SPANKBOX.ATL in it’s entirety at Satellite Art Show during Miami Beach Art Week.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/spankbox.atl/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wheelie_an_artist/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessica.e.blinkhorn/

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