About

About

J. Johari Palacio was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1975, a first-generation child of Belizean immigrants, who relocated with his father to southern California when he was a child. An interdisciplinary artist since his beginnings in South Los Angeles' illustrious late 80s street art scene, he works primarily in the medium of sound art, but also video, photography, mixed media and creative nonfiction. He has acted as a contributing writer for such publications as Chicago Reader, Chicago Artist Resource, and the now-defunct seminal hip-hop periodical Rap Sheet.

Palacio’s practice revolves primarily around subterranean and street culture, underground music and sound, the landscape of the metropolis, and human interaction in these environments. I am intrigued by emergent and innovative art born from underrepresented people and communities, and his work sometimes takes the form of personal and public documentation of urban culture through photography, video, sound, writing, collage, and mixed-media. For as long as he can remember, music has served as a catalyst for connections, relationships, emotion and memory. J. Johari Palacio considers music and sound as the pivot of his creative output, whether he is acting as a resident DJ for multiple venues, crafting content for blogs and print, business managing and consulting with musical acts, or creating sound pieces for art installations.

His current journey has him residing in Austin, Texas.