Virtual Gallery
Thank you to everyone who made this exhibition happen.
Rosemary Allan
Night Rainbow, etching, 12” by 13”
Rosemary Allan is an artist who has been wayfinding with the arts. Rosemary daily develops ideas and observations of encountered natural and social worlds. She draws to represent light, shadow, and colour. She has experience in arts administration. As a citizen who upholds human rights, and children’s rights, citizens can be inspirited when they have environments where they are both rights bearers and rights upholders. Like author Ben Okri, she believes we create stories, we live within them, and if we change our story, we change our lives.
Night Rainbow is an artwork that urges our participation to become like beacons, beckoning, and being for each other. Using mushrooms literally jumping out of the ground in a night sky lit with The Big Dipper, and shining lightning bugs, with intuition, we move in this world, making decisions that become true to who we are, and what we have learned. When we experience the lyricism of being in the zone of our imagination, a beckoning pulls us out into our beyond. Shining light on our practice, we are able to see the values as they work in our lives.
Nesting, silkscreen print, 17” by 6”
Nesting addresses an aspect of who I am as an artist and a person at this time. Finding a place with enough space for two people to live as artists, the process of addressing what needs are necessary for each person is critical, and much personal clarity is needed. The feeling of the space are like a compass to a life. In coming to meet, each partner needs to both own their own needs and feelings, as well as own and accept those of their partner. We align our being to spaces where light both embodies open space and wherein shadow, light can be found.
Louise Anastacio
Dissimulation, acrylic on canvas, 32” by 24”
Unconscious , charcoal on fabriano, 21” by 22”
Louise Anastacio is a fifth-year art major, graduating this April with a Bachelors of Fine Arts, with a focus in drawing. Her inspiration is a study of philosophies of the Psyche and the Jungian Archetypes. Much of her art practice is reflected in these philosophies and connecting her personal experiences of memories and their personal impact.
Dissimulation, acrylic on canvas, 32” by 24”
“Dissimulation” is a diptych based on the first Jungian archetype of personality representing the different social masks, meant to emit the emotional impacts of consciousness into the unconscious. Using the symbolism of hair as emotional ties and masks as these different personas we have created for the public, with one being physical (hair) and the other by the mind, both aspects that can be controlled. However, due to prying eyes, there is a feeling of being overwhelmed and consumed by our creations.
Unconscious , charcoal on fabriano, 21” by 22”
“Unconscious” is a mixture of the Jungian Archetypes: The Shadow and the Anima/Animus. The shadow being the part of ourselves that the public has no access to, our true emotions. Whereas, the Anima/Animus are our feminine and masculine psyches. Merging these two traits through a visual transformation from our conscious to our unconscious mind. Although these traits of our personality are hidden, they often appear in our lives as protection and comfort from the world.
Jordyn cutforth
Alone, photography, 10.5” by 8.5”
Jordyn Cutforth is a visual artist born and raised in Alberta. Working with a variety of materials and often inspired by the world around her, Jordyn creates work focused around the life cycle. Pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Calgary, she incorporates her own travel experiences with the people she meets to create art about the world. Through using different mediums such as paint, inks, and makeup on a variety of canvases, Jordyn explores how the natural world interacts with our manufactured world and how people place themselves in it.
Alone, photography, 10.5” by 8.5”
There are many causes, many factors, and many feelings but is it reality?
Every day we are faced with decisions to make. When given the choice of quick gratification or a lasting source, we as a society lean to the cheap, easy, more desirable choice with complete disregard to the consequences.
ishnoor dhillon
Grand Canyon, watercolour on paper, 12” by 18”
The Mystic Moonlight, silkscreen print, 10” by 12”
With inspiration from art and philosophy, Ishnoor Dhillon’s conceptual approach often begins as an exploration of the human condition and its practical applications. The dichotomy and tension between her intersecting identities manifest within her practice through themes of collective identity and decolonization. Though her practice begins with a focus on her own identities, she creates her work with representation and social relationships in mind. Therefore, she approaches her art with the purpose of continuing the exploration of her responsibilities towards traditionally marginalized communities through an intersectional lens.
Grand Canyon, watercolour on paper, 12” by 18”
This piece is part of a series, the things we’ve forgotten, which aims to materialize wisdom from different sources into visual reminders for myself. The series grounds abstract ideas by establishing a connection with the natural world. “Grand Canyon” builds upon themes explored in the poem Toh Zinda Ho Tum by Javed Akhtar, specifically regarding the ebb and flow of a river... control is an illusion, and resistance to this idea will only lead to stagnancy. Surrendering to the tides is the most powerful way to move forward with intention and purpose.
The Mystic Moonlight, silkscreen print, 10” by 12”
Inspired by the symbolism, “The Mystic Moonlight” builds upon the traditional “Moon” tarot card. This card encourages one to find trust within themselves, acting as a reminder to find clarity and understanding through ones’ own intuition.
Dissconnected, embroidery, 38” by 22”
In this piece, viewers are encouraged to consider their own connection with the land, that of which they have settled on as well as their global ancestral or familial connections to the land. As a result of my personal displacement, I lack a meaningful connection to the land I reside on as well as my ancestral land. It feels as though I float between two contradictory worlds, tied to both yet not grounded in either. “Disconnected” speaks directly to this conflict, one which has been experienced by many.
Dissconnected, embroidery, 38” by 22”
zainna alea dilan
The Things I Never Got To Tell You, mixed media: acrylic, ink and graphite, 11" by 14"
Here lie the words that I wished I said before I left, unspoken words that were left unsaid. I wish I can say these words to you, but knowing where I stand now in your life, I'm unable to do so. I wish I could turn back time, but I can't. So, here it goes, the msg I never got the courage to send you.
I Am Still Human, digital illustration print, 12.27" by 15.08"
With so many hate crimes happening to the Asian American community, I am so distraught and overwhelmed. Seeing the news of how many of us, our loved ones, and our elders have been deeply affected mentally and physically, breaks my heart. The thought of it happening to any of my loved ones or anyone brings me so much anxiety and sadness. It made me more afraid to step outside not knowing what’s going to happen to me or my loved ones, and just the thought of not knowing it was our last goodbye to each other overwhelms me.
Zainna Alea Dilan is a fifth-year student at the University of Calgary, majoring in Visual Studies and minoring in the Architectural program at the School of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape. During her early years as an artist, she always used art as a way to advocate for mental health. Her work involved experimenting with different ways viewers perceive content through extreme angles and various mediums.
Currently, much of her work involves creating a visual journal of her life. She also uses her work as a platform to bring awareness to issues such as the rising hate crimes from COVID-19. She hopes that her art can bring the community together while providing comfort.
josee palacio huete
Josee Palacio is a Canadian artist of Nicaraguan dissent. Throughout her Visual Studies degree, she has explored painting, drawing, photography and has found a passion for lithography. Influenced by the specific geographic, political and social context of her relations to Nicaragua and Canada, Josee’s art draws on issues of feminism, identity, and belonging.
Heritage of Humanity, ink on vellum, 5 images sized 11" by 17"
“Heritage of Humanity” is a series of prints reflective of my personal connections to the Latinx community here in Calgary, AB. Through the revisitation of my childhood home, my local Latino market, to the food franchise my parents ran when first arriving in Calgary in 96, each location signifies an emotional and cultural hub of connection. However, in the act of documenting and reflecting on my family's connection to Calgary, these spaces have become limited as I have grown. Where are the new spaces that exist today and what can we do to encourage building spaces for our Latinx community?
lucas hale
Lucas Hale is a Lenape-Potawatomi-European visual artist, and member of Moravian of the Thames, Delaware Nation in Southern Ontario. He is currently based in Treaty 7 territory, residing in Mohkinstsis. Lucas is a student at the University of Calgary, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Indigenous Studies with a minor in Visual Studies and Art History. Lucas’s practice mainly focuses on beadwork, a skill he learned from Nehiyaw artist Judy Anderson. By employing traditional beadwork techniques and materials such as moose hide, Lucas uses skateboard art as a way of communicating traditional Indigenous stories to a contemporary audience.
Man Will Never Capture You, moose hide, skateboard, glass beads, 10” by 30” by 5”
“Man Will Never Capture You” (2020) is the second in a series of skateboards that use traditional beadwork techniques to create skateboard graphic art. This piece depicts the selfless acts of Mànàka’has (The Rainbow Crow), as he carries the grandfather of all fires down to earth to spread warmth among all the animals. The Creator assures Mànàka’has that man will never harm, nor capture him. By continuing to tell traditional stories in a contemporary way, I want to ensure that our histories are preserved and protected from the threat of mankind, and the dominant society which seeks to erase them.
Skateboarding is Medicine, moose hide, skateboard, glass beads, porcupine quills, 10” by 30” by 5”
Skateboarding is Medicine focuses on themes of healing and kinship. As the child of parents who were both adopted, I wish to honour my relationships with my parents, and the cultures I was raised with. Together, my mother and I are on a journey of reconnecting with our Lenape roots. My father raised me within the subculture of Skateboarding. This work honours those bonds through traditional beadwork techniques and contemporary skateboard graphic art, with imagery influenced by Lenape creation stories. Through the creation process, I discovered the many parallels between skateboarding and beading. Beading is medicine. Skateboarding is medicine.
Maryam Khalid
Sheikh Zayed Mosque, acrylic painting, 30" by 2" by 40"
Born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and raised in Calgary from a young age, Maryam was always interested in the artistic and creative side of the world. She is a third year student currently studying Visual Studies, Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Architectural Studies at the University of Calgary. Starting her artistic journey in 2013, her desire to create art soon became a routine journey to further explore her creative consciousness. From small paintings to large-scale projects, her art is a highly personal reflection of herself and the diverse cultures around the world. Her artistic palette is centralized around acrylic, oil, and digital painting.
The concept for Sheikh Zayed Mosque was initiated due to an interest in Byzantine architecture. The intricacies in the proportional designs of these buildings and mosques was a captivating motive for me to begin my exploration in this field. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, UAE is an exceptional architectural masterpiece that I wanted to bring to life on a canvas.
Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Jaesung Lee is a first generation Korean-Canadian emerging artist situated in Mokhinstsis, Treaty 7 territory. She is currently enrolled in the visual studies program at the University of Calgary. Since her early years, Lee has cultivated a strong eye for observing relations between land, the body, and culture. With mediums such as photography, textiles, and installations, she aims to capture and express the histories of the women and queer Korean diaspora. Using a semi-autobiographical approach, Lee takes on the role of a “storyteller” archetype. Her work imbues native Korean spirituality, folklore, and crafts to share with the viewer an often forgotten, and erased side of the Korean community abroad.
Jacheongbi is an excerpt from the artist’s “Heavenly Bodies” project deconstructing the intersection of conservative traditionalism, spirituality, and gendered violence within Korean sociopolitical realms. The macrame-like bindings of the norigae artform combined with the legend of the Korean goddess Jacheongbi is an exploration about the trappings of tradition yet finding reprieve and strength from the same sources. The deification journey of Jacheongbi details her autonomy, gender fluidity, and wise negotiations with the Gods in bestowing grains to the people of earth. Reinterpreting and critically questioning stories is a key part of attaining liberation for marginalized persons such as women.
The Promised Day is a foray into examining the rituals, emotions, and beliefs surrounding the phenomenon of death. Part photo essay and part screenplay, the artist has transformed themselves into a Grim Reaper character. Visual costuming here is derived from the Korean “Sitkim” ritual, where the shaman (Mudang) dons religious regalia while performing ritual songs/prayers. This is to guide bereaved funeral-goers and/or trauma survivors into expressing their pain in a spiritually safe and socially nourishing setting. With the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic causing mayhem through unpredictable mortality rates coupled with massive uncertainties for the future of society, death has become a close and terrible companion to all.
Alex mai
The basis of Alex Mai’s practice focuses on creating art narratives surrounding issues of mental health and cognitive processes. His experience in artmaking ranges from abstract art, printmaking, digital art, sculpture, and installation art. He considers himself a Canadian contemporary artist as he investigates recent problems and events that affect western society. Alex’s projects are usually research-based where he attempts to use various information from scholarly sources to broaden his knowledge in a concept that he is exploring.
JUles Schacter
Jules Schacter is a female artist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is currently attending the University of Calgary and is enrolled in a five-year, combined Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Education. Much of her work is heavily influenced by Feminist Theory, nature, and life and death. Within her practice, Jules intends to touch on her experience as a woman in Canada. Both nature, life, and death are also major themes within her practice. She explores these themes through a variety of mediums such as embroidery, resin sculpture, minimalist drawing, and expressive painting.
Am I Pretty?, acrylic paint on mirror tiles, 6 tiles sized 12” by 12”
Am I Pretty? touches on the idea of how the more you engage in social media and selfie culture, the more you lose your sense of self. We spend hours getting ready, doing our hair and makeup. We put on a fake smile and show an unauthentic, filtered, version of ourselves. We scroll through our camera roll and narrow it down to the photo we deem worthy for social media and the judgment of others. Our own faces become unrecognizable, and we question what we truly look like. I wanted to share my experience and toxic relationship with social media, because too often I give it the power to let me question, “Am I Pretty?”.
Am I Pretty?, acrylic paint on mirror tiles, 6 tiles sized 12” by 12”
Breana menzel
Breana Menzel is a fourth-year Finance student with a minor in Visual Arts & Art History. She grew up in Red Deer where she trained as a competitive swimmer for over 10 years. After quitting swimming, Breana turned her focus to art and academics. Throughout her degree, she has been motivated by the ideological influences of art and business.
Christy Thompson
Gentileschi, Judith slaying Holofernes, digital collage, 12.2" by 15.7"
Since starting her education at the University of Calgary, Christy has been fascinated by the progression of art movements through her various Art History courses. What started out as means of helping her study for exams, soon became a way of self-expression and in turn, led her to change her degree to major in both Art history and Media and Communications. Although her degree is soon coming to an end, Christy still takes the time to study various artworks which she then uses to help inspire her to create art.
Gentileschi, Judith slaying Holofernes explores the relationship between old and new mediums, using digital editing and manipulation as the main ways of creating my artwork. Drawing inspiration from artists dated back to the Realism movement, I use their paintings to create a new and contemporary aspect to what could be considered an old technique and medium.
Kimberly O'Blenes
Kimberly O’Blenes was born and raised in Calgary Alberta. She is currently working towards a BFA from the University of Calgary and is on track to graduate in 2022. O’Blenes is an interdisciplinary, emerging artist who has exhibited her work in group exhibitions across Calgary and who has received numerous awards and scholarships for her creative and academic achievement. She has worked as a muralist, a graphic designer, a photographer, and more, and continues to create artwork within multiple artistic fields.
Tasia Selimos
Tasia Selimos’s art practice combines figuration and gestural lines to explore the relationship between the pandemic and the concept of home. In creating work on the universal experience of being isolated at home, she conveys that it is normal to feel anxious about the evolving circumstances of the COVID-19 virus.
In times of COVID-19, the concept of home is not only being challenged but redefined. Home is now encompassing work, school, and social life; it has become a prevalent aspect of daily life. Overall, in depicting the new meaning of what a home is, I want to explore the current and future conditions of a COVID-19 world.
Boundaries are confining,
The space is entwining,
Home is redefining,
Covid is surviving.
Don sucha
Don Sucha was originally trained as a commercial photographer and has a previous degree in Philosophy. Currently, he is pursuing a degree-after in Art History. He usually divides his course work equally between Art History/Theory and Visual Art practice. As the artist explains, “I feel that in order to fully understand the historical and theoretical aspects of Art, I need to familiarize myself with the varied techniques, materials, and approaches used by artists working in different media.” In his photography practice, he is currently exploring essentialist approaches to photographic aesthetics and the semantic relationships of image/text pairs.
Zee Hunter
Awareness Rising Tiger, digital photography, ink, and watercolour, 17.6” by 26.4”
Fates, digital photography, 17.6” by 26.4”
Zee Hunter is a Visual Studies Honours Student with degrees in Religious Studies and Film Studies. He is a filmmaker, photographer, digital artist, and painter mostly. He believes art is everywhere and everything. Life is an art. And Art is storytelling. He expresses that “stories help define who we are and give meaning to our existence.” We are made of art.” Zee explains, “art can open up that liminal space between stories, and allow us to become better people made of better stories.” His stories of who I am changes all the time, whenever he finds another that’s more true.
Awareness Rising Tiger, digital photography, ink, and watercolour, 17.6” by 26.4”
This work is from a multidisciplinary series using video, painting, photography, and digital art. Each work in the series is about a different aspect of health. This one focuses on the importance of movement. The Awareness Rising Tiger (A.R.T.) is the spirit that motivates us to use our bodies, in service of bringing enlightenment: that higher awareness where we find peace and happiness. Beyond distractions and stories. Lost in the movement. Found in the movement. This A.R.T. spirit expresses gratitude for finding yourself in this moment, for embracing your flaws and shadows, for gaining compassion and love through wiggling around.
Fates, digital photography, 17.6” by 26.4”
The three fates of Greek mythology, the witches who spin our stories, glow orange with fire of creation. The makers of stories are artists. It is they who determine our lives. We are artists spinning fates. Through our free will we create our destiny. The three witches shift from one multiverse to another, never fully solidifying our path. For we may change directions and enter a new reality at any moment we choose. Eyes closed, they are kind and patient, awaiting our choice. Content that we do not see between the stories, lest they lose their power.
Peyton Wong
Peyton Wong is a bi-racial Canadian artist in her third year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts: Visual Studies Undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary. Peyton has been actively engaged in the art exhibition scene, showing her work in the Youth Works 2016 Exhibitions, Calgary Catholic School District Central Office Student Art Exhibition in 2018, and Emerging Artist Exhibition PUSH 2020. Peyton won the scholarship of Supreme Learning Fine & Performing Arts in 2017-2018. She hopes to engage in curating and be involved in the art exhibition world to continue developing her professional and critical skills.
Jellyfish, acrylic on canvas, 52” by 28”
Jellyfish is an abstract piece that explores the use of symbols in work. Each box represents a window that looks out into the world. We can make out weather patterns and shapes in Jellyfish. The jellyfish characters imply a cloud that airplanes have flown through. The mathematical symbols imply how we try to calculate and predict what will happen next. Jellyfish explores symbols we know, such as mathematical symbols, shapes, weather, and simply “abstracts” the meaning.
The Joy of Soup, watercolour, 12” by 9”
The Joy of Soup is a watercolour piece that represents my appreciation for Asian cuisine. Due to the circumstances of COVID-19, my inspiration for The Joy of Soup derives from my theme of enjoying small tasks to cope with isolation. The small task that I've engaged in recently is making Asian cuisine. Additionally, in my art style, I have a personal interest in dragon mythology. I wanted to experiment with how I can draw food while also engaging with my art style.
Randi Woolford
Randi Woolford is a multidisciplinary artist. She was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and is based in Calgary, Alberta. She received her Visual Arts Diploma at the Red Deer College. Randi is an artist, short story writer, and student. She is currently in pursuit of her Honours BFA at The University of Calgary. Afterwards, she aims to apply her conceptual, technical development, and creative potential towards a master's degree in painting. She is interested in discovering the limitations and self-expression within gender, food anxiety, body anxiety, sexuality, and the feminine experience through her artwork.
