J.B. (Jessica Burke) creates vivid, labor-intensive drawings that dance on the edge of magical realism and memento mori. An Associate Professor of Art at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, J.B. uses her work to dissect the rituals of folklore and the inevitable decay of both the body and the environment. Whether working in her signature colored pencil or through digital painting, her art serves as a vibrant witness to impermanence. Her work has been curated into solo and group exhibitions at prestigious venues including the Mint Museum, Arch Enemy Arts, Aqua Art Miami, and the LuXun Academy in Liaoning Province, China. A widely published artist, her work can be found in the pages of Creative Quarterly, 3X3 Illustration International, and Hi-Fructose Magazine. Her latest print, explores the "ghost-prints" of human impact, challenging viewers to find beauty and urgency in the ecosystems we are currently rewriting.

Several issues are at play. The challenges confronting our oceans are intertwined and overlapping, which makes them even more difficult to address and places additional strain on marine species and habitats.