「Untitled」
Cassandra St. Godard
Causality
Digital Media
Various sizes
My digital animations and drawings explore how bodies respond to internal and external struggle. I make use of an initial rotoscoping technique where I perform the poses required to construct my compositions, and digitally paint over top of the image. Although my work uses my own body and is inspired heavily by my own personal experiences, I welcome the viewer to interpret these pieces based on the use of colour, posing, and cropping.
Surrounding a central nude figure, my artwork incorporates foreign, disembodied hands coming from outside the frame to interact with the central figure. An unidentified hand touching an intimate part of the bare body may raise the question of whether this touch is either welcomed or unwanted. The purpose of each hand and the feelings emitted by the figure are left open to the viewer, pondering whether the touch is sexual, tender, traumatic, or aggressive. My artwork is created with the intent of producing a visceral reaction in the viewer, where they feel the hands manipulating the body and the varying temperatures of the skin. The body is a fascinating and complex tool, and my art takes advantage of its adaptability.
Ciska Jans
The Aftermath
Embroidery & watercolour on cotton
60" x 80"
My practice is focused on describing the body as a site of both physical and mental trauma. My work is concerned with healing and regrowth after facing sexual assault without justice. I use the traditional medium of embroidery in many of the pieces as I want to bring this traditional craft into the arena of fine art. Embroidery has been used for centuries, mainly as a women’s trade. It was traditionally used to accentuate traditional clothing all over the world and has been treasured by many cultures. It has also increasingly made its way into the gallery as many female artists have reclaimed it as part of their contemporary art practice. I have chosen the image of the vagina as a central theme in these works relating them to the botanical form of a flower. The image of the vagina is sometimes carefully integrated within the decorative pattern of wallpaper or fabric, while others exist as symbols clashing with the image below. This multiplicity of images is hung salon-style against a decorative wallpaper, symbolizing a space of growth and rebirth.
Kacia Lee
The Kiss 2
Felt, embroidery & poly fill
18.5'' x 26.5''
My work explores nudity, intimacy, desire, and sex work. Although considered taboo in our society, engaging with sex workers via pornography, magazines, subscription-based platforms, or in person is a common practice. By exploring these aspects of human sexuality in my work, and introducing them into the public sphere of the gallery, I aim to destigmatize the experiences of both sex worker and customer.
My process includes sourcing pornographic images, cropping them to a dynamic composition, and simplifying them into large areas of colour. I use felt, embroidery thread, linen and fiberfill for materials. The use of abstraction and bright colours allows these images to be more easily consumed and digested by the viewer. After creating a new image from my reference, I am able to begin cutting the pieces of coloured felt and embroidering them onto linen or canvas. I hope the slow and intimate process of embroidering these pieces will cause the viewer to reflect upon the labour involved in sex work, tying the materials to the imagery in these artworks.
Krystal Charlston
Farm Girl Series
Mixed media
30" x 30"
My work aims to challenge gender norms through the juxtaposition of sculptural forms that blur the line between what is thought of as feminine and masculine. My own experiences growing up on a farm in Langley, BC and years of engaging in physically challenging farm work has greatly informed my art practice. Equally important is my fascination with all things considered stereotypically female in our culture: glitter, artificial nails, fake eyelashes,….Throughout my work, tools, fashion accessories and objects relating to farm labor are blended together to create a new hybrid, highlighting contrasting stereotypes of gender. Items typically associated with men’s work (hammers, mowers, shovels) are adorned with jewels, glitter and the colour pink – marking them as objects of hyper-femininity. By forcing together these apparent opposites, I aim to subvert cultural expectations of men as active and women as passive.
Lissette Isaak
Gathered
Graphite on paper
8"x 10"
Historically, still life objects are related to one another in a logical grouping such as in a painting of fruits and other foods laid out for consumption. By contrast, the objects in this series do not have an obvious connection to one another. The subject matter I focus my attention on is found in unlikely places such as garages and storage sheds. Gathered and arranged by an unseen hand, the objects are now abandoned and forgotten. They wait, it seems, to be noticed and recognized. That is my purpose in rendering them, to give them attention and draw out the beauty of their elegant forms.
The process of drawing, whether in graphite or coloured pencil, is a long one. As I draw, I become intensely familiar with the forms, tones, and lines that make up each object. The act of re-imagining these forms through drawing abstracts them as I become aware of the interactions of the objects with one another and the spaces around and between them. The close cropping and small size of the drawings encourages the viewer to enter into this intimate experience with me.
Sue Johnson
Wind Direction
Low fire cone 04 earthenware clay with coloured slips and ceramic sealant
42" x 42"
“We have this treasure in jars of clay that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
1 Corinthians 4:7-8 RSV
This notion that extraordinary ideas can be expressed through an ordinary medium –clay- is the inspiration behind my work. The juxtaposition of the divine and the earthly provides a motivational foundation for me to try to express my ideas in clay. As we find ourselves in a time of great uncertainty I have set out to try and define this historical moment through a series of installations titled “Wind Direction”. Using research from many current and historical thought leaders on the impact of technology on society I have incorporated visual imagery and text from both the old and new testaments to express the wind direction idea. Working in stoneware clay using both sculptural and wheel thrown techniques this final installation titled “Here We Have No Lasting City” is a tribute to what was, in the form of a memorial pole, and a portent of what might be. Reaching back in time to the Canopic jar found in Egyptian tombs I have used this form as a foundation for the construction of this memorial pole. Birds are the motif used to express the idea of a city in ruins overtaken by nature. A portent is a warning and ties in to the idea of wind direction especially if there are storms ahead.
Winnie Hui
You
Mixed media & foam board
150" x 90"
My work explores the relationship between words and people. As Yehuda Berg states, “Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity... Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.” The words we choose and how we use them can build others up or tear them down.
I have isolated the word "you" to create ambiguity. Does the word refer to the person viewing the work in the gallery or someone else who is not there? The piece could be interpreted as a monument - a sculptural form that pays homage to a person who is no longer present and the emotions connected with them, either positive or negative.
Zoe Leung
Ephemera
Acrylic on paper & mixed media
24" x 40"
I am an interdisciplinary artist whose goal is to bridge gaps between mediums and cultures. As someone of Cantonese descent born and raised on unceded Coast Salish land, I am interested in identity politics, cultural phenomena, and ideas around nostalgia and memory. Due to my intercultural upbringing, I often wonder about and question my own idea of belonging, family, and community. Currently I am exploring how food represents connection to my cultural and personal history. For this project, I researched how to fold and create various forms of Chinese dumplings, a repetitive act the women in my family would have performed for family meals. Made from an inedible dough, these dumplings are hung from a line, referencing a beaded curtain. A food made inedible loses its original purpose to feed someone, and gains the purpose of becoming a symbol, a representation of the history, culture, and community behind the dish. Accompanying the dumplings are monochromatic portraits of myself as a child, collaged into a single image. Panels of hand-dyed fabric and translucent paper create an installation that evokes dreamlike memories. By juxtaposing sculptural forms against photographs from my own archive, my piece explores the connection between food and memory.