Hello, my name is Jessica and I am an illustrator based in Copenhagen, Denmark. I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and spent most of my childhood growing up in the city before moving to California, USA. After finishing my studies at The University of California Berkeley and The Royal Danish Academy, where I earned a BA in Architecture, I worked in the field of architecture in Tokyo and London before focusing on illustrations.
My work mainly focuses on narrative storytelling. When I was little, my mother purchased three boxes of picture books from around the world for us, and I still remember many of the illustrations vividly. As I grew older, graphic novels and mangas became a main source of escape into fascinating worlds and exciting stories. I am still adding new titles to my collections to this day, which meant they are probably the largest genre of books I consume. Adding the architecture world into this mix brings me naturally to solve many problems visually while retaining the spark for imagination and humor. Currently, I am taking on various projects in editorial and conceptual illustration.
My work mainly focuses on narrative storytelling. When I was little, my mother purchased three boxes of picture books from around the world for us, and I still remember many of the illustrations vividly. As I grew older, graphic novels and mangas became a main source of escape into fascinating worlds and exciting stories. I am still adding new titles to my collections to this day, which meant they are probably the largest genre of books I consume. Adding the architecture world into this mix brings me naturally to solve many problems visually while retaining the spark for imagination and humor. Currently, I am taking on various projects in editorial and conceptual illustration.
When I am not drawing or wracking my brain for visual ideas, I enjoy playing the clarinet, reading, hiking, playing on Nintendo Switch (favorite games: Zelda Breath of the Wild and The Witcher 3), and spending time with my husband and two gremlin kids.
For all commercial and personal inquiries please send an email to jesscplai@gmail.com. Thank you very much and looking forward to hearing from you!
CVR nr. 40207589
Sample Past Clients:
Peter Blue Press, Taiwan Association Denmark, Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), #WISE Women in Entrepreneurship, and DataCurious.
2025 Solo exhibition, Jessica Lai: Dreams of Dreams of Dreams…, Kyst Gallery, Dragør, Denmark.
2025 Shortlisted & recommended reading for Knights Unite, Green Earth Book Award, The Nature Generation, Arlington, VA, USA.
2025 Finalist, None Fiction Comics Scholarship, Frontline Fellowship, Taipei, Taiwan.
2025 Short listed, Kids Comic Unite, Pitch Fest, USA.
2022 Group exhibition, WISE Women Week, Dailininkų Sąjungos Galerija, Vilnius, Lithuania.
2022 Group exhibition, Copenhagen Bikes and Roses, Art Escape Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
2020 Groupe exhibition, Billedemageri, RoS Gallery, Roskilde, Denmark.
2019 Two Persons exhibition, Galleri Lois, Copenhagen, Denmark.
