Ella Mitenko

 I am an Art History Student at UCalgary, I have not seriously made art since high school. In my studies, I am often inspired by the artists, stories and artwork I come across. Studying art makes me want to try new things and create using the artistic language I learn in class to communicate my own ideas.

Modern Atlas, 2025

This collage was inspired by Gerhard Richter’s photo collection "Atlas", a massive collection of over 800 panels displaying thousands of news clippings and photographs. The images were often of regular life, but also responded to Global events around that time, including World War Two, the horror of the Holocaust and the postwar division of Germany. "Atlas" was intended to create order and act as a record of these people and events.

One panel I read about for a class included five photos from regular life, and one of a Holocaust victim; all images are presented equally, and if you don't look closely, you miss the out-of-place death camp image.

I was inspired to use this format to comment on current global events. I use images collected digitally; the content of the images is individually insignificant. Rather than a strict organization, I use an overflow of digital images overlapped in a small space to replicate my own feeling of digital overwhelm. I included one photo of body bags lined up in the street, taken during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.