Joy Machine is thrilled to present , a joint exhibition of ceramic and mixed-media works by Chicago artists and Jimenez. The exhibition runs from August 9 to September 20, 2025.
An expression of endearment and surprise, “speak of the devil” is about manifesting what one desires. The idiom connotes a strange, even magical ability to conjure someone’s presence with a mere mention. Simply say their name and wait for them to appear.
For Haylie and Sydnie Jimenez, making art is also an act of conjuring. Twin sisters with parallel and sometimes collaborative practices, the artists work primarily in ceramics and share a similar aesthetic, one rooted in narrative and rich with tattoos, piercings, and a generally punk style. Where Sydnie focuses on three-dimensions and builds figurative sculptures and totemic heads, Haylie prefers to etch scenes into flat panels. Both artists act as world-builders, depicting their queer, Black and brown friends and neighbors embracing their chosen kin.
“These groups of people we call family and friends are the best of us and should be recognized as such,” the artists say. “We want to fully acknowledge our wonderful communities and depict them as they should be.”
The Jimenez sisters were raised in the South, first in Florida and then in Georgia, with a Catholic mother. Born from religious fear, the phrase “speak of the devil” originated as a 17th-century superstition of summoning evil. The expression has since lost its sinister meaning, although a surface reading still elicits the diabolical.
This contradiction between a superficial interpretation and reality is one Haylie and Sydnie are endlessly interested in teasing out. They have lived in Chicago for nearly a decade and have found commonality between their adopted city and the South: “both places that often get a bad rep but are so rich in culture, shared histories and positive aspects,” they say.
Speak of the Devil invokes the cultural and social similarities between Chicago and the South. Centering people first and foremost, the artists highlight the vibrant communities that thrive in both regions. Architectural details like Sydnie’s gargoyle-esque sculptures and domestic items like Haylie’s lamps and inlay tables reference the very spaces necessary to establishing meaningful relationships and a community of care.
While celebrating their friends, family, and those who might become such in the future, the artists create a warm, welcoming environment–complete with custom-stenciled walls—that offers an alternative to both oppression and violence and enduring stereotypes proliferated through popular culture and the media. This is their own magical act of conjuring. By visualizing a world of radical acceptance, pleasure, and endless joy, the artists lay the foundation to make such a world appear.
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