Ji Stribling, a senior communications major at UMKC, found their life’s work through self-expression and art.
Initially a neuroscience student, Stribling’s journey took a turn during the pandemic, leading them to pivot towards a new passion: filmmaking. They now explore the intricacies of their reality through the lens of a camera.
“It was something I really liked to do as a kid,” Stribling said. “Bringing that back into my adult life feels like I went in a really big circle, but it was a good one at the same time.”
Stribling produces documentary film and photography professionally, notably for Kansas City PBS. They are a member of the Emmys, have done work for The Washington Post and have worked for the Hechinger Report at Columbia University.
The artist creates personal work, which verges on experimental and commonly explores themes of subjective reality, gender and childhood.
“I think it is really important for an artist to have experimental work,” Stribling said. “It revolves around our different realities: our subjective, our objective and intersubjective realities that make up our life and our way of living. [I include] lots of philosophy in my work.”
Stribling defines subjective reality as what they see, their own singular perspective. Objective reality involves uncontroversial and undeniable truths. Intersubjective relates to the middle ground or agreed-upon reality.
Identifying as gender fluid, Stribling sometimes goes by he/him, she/her or they/them, and much of their work confronts gender and identity.
“It’s very much a spectrum,” Stribling said. “I have a habit of blending ‘feminine,’ ‘masculine’ and ‘nonbinary’ personas all into one.”
They completed a photographic lookbook series on masculinity, pulling on experiences from their childhood.
“Growing up, I would watch my dad in the backyard just smoking his Parliaments,” Stribling said. “I thought he looked like such a man. This is me tapping into the first contact of understanding the heart of a man and figuring out how to emulate what that looks like and how I can become this person.”
Stribling employs postures of their subjects and elements of the photos to express masculinity and femininity.
“I talk a lot about male postures, and just really delving into those as a child,” Stribling said. “I wasn’t trying to exude this inherent femininity, but sort of saying what empowers me as me.”
When choosing where to go for college, Stribling appreciated UMKC for its affordability and proximity to where they were located.
“I got into all the schools I wanted, but UMKC was the closest and had the largest diversity, which was really important to me because I’m someone that’s BIPOC,” Stribling said.
Stribling strives to create meaningful relationships through their art.
“My biggest goal is to connect people and to create small communities,” Stribling said. “To bring people together that have similar stories that wouldn’t necessarily talk to each other before.”
