Yesterday ft. Yazz Jansen
CH-V sits down with the NYC creative to wax nostalgic sentiments.
Lately, creative extraordinaire and friend of VOID, Yazz Jansen, has been feeling particularly nostalgic. Maybe it’s because of the arrival of the cold in New York City, or maybe it’s because lately it feels like the world is headed for darker days.
Music has a funny way of piecing yesterday back together; revisiting faces you’d forgotten, reminding you what butterflies in your stomach feels like, and replaying the freedom of late night wanderings you forgot to experience since. At the very least, it brings the door frames between the travesties and marvels of the world together in some semblance of okay-ness.
As a visual artist in the urban jungle of New York, noise and chaos are two integral parts of Yazz’s reality. So we asked her to give us a teaspoon of the medicine she’d been sipping on lately.
The following transcript has been condensed and edited for clarity.
A SMELL THAT REMINDS YOU OF SPRING?
Strawberry
ONE WEIRD HABIT OF YOURS THAT NO ONE YOU’VE MET SHARES WITH YOU?
Not weird but definitely a habit – I burn incense every chance I get
ARE YOU GOING TO HEAVEN OR HELL?
Hell, cos all my people will be there and I wanna party.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
When I was young I wanted to be a florist, because that’s what my mum did. I remember her trimming flowers in the kitchen for weddings and smelling the flowers: so sweet! I’m still growing and I would say I want to be surrounded by love.
A SONG YOU WANTED TO HATE BUT HAVE SINCE CHANGED YOUR MIND ABOUT?
First, anything by Nick Cave. But once I really listened to the lyrics, he became one of my favorite artists; his way with words is mesmerizing.
THE INITIALS OF YOUR FIRST KISS?
SP.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOUR YOUNGER SELF RUINED FOR YOU?
White wine.
WHAT’S ONE HOPE YOU HAVEN’T LOST HOLD OF YET?
That women leaders will rule the world.
ONE MOMENT YOU COULD’VE LIVED IN FOREVER?
Any night I have spent lying on the beach with a friend gazing at the stars.
Since she won’t tell you it herself, go check-out Yazzy’s work with the likes of Jesse Jo Stark, Lil Mami Lani, Bella + Gigi Hadid here.
