You know me too well aims to explore feelings of forced connection, invasion, discomfort and control. It seeks to inspect the feeling of someone digesting you without your consent, of them knowing you too well.
In Solemn Silence is an exhibition that explores the relationship between the figure and the atmosphere. Kaviani’s current practice involves referencing photographs of her family through a second lens, one that is catered with feelings of discomfort and longing. She seeks to replicate the feeling of certain moments in life where numerous discrepancies in time, logic and space coalesce creating bizarre existential-like moments, in which she is constantly subject to, especially when she is brought face to face with her culture and relatives. Psychology influences Kaviani’s work immensely as she is completing her double major in Psychology along with Studio Art at the University of Guelph.
You can see more of Marjan’s work on Instagram @kavianigallery and on her website www.marjankaviani.com
As a girl, I was fiery and unafraid. I believed that girls rule and boys drool and that my Mom was the coolest girl in the world. Girls could do anything boys could, especially me. I got older, and in late elementary school, I discovered the term “feminist” and adopted it with enthusiasm. I confidently pointed out sexism in my classmates and took my first formal feminist stance against elementary school dress codes. These works are for that girl who I am trying to rediscover. She was not thinking about how the boys see her. She never made herself small for the attention of a man.
Through a lengthy and intricate process, I created portraits of women that I know. The works begin as large pieces of muslin laid out on a flat surface. Then, I mix acrylic paint and water, stir vigorously and apply the pigment to the canvas as a stain. I use a sponge and a spray bottle to move the colour around the canvas. Once dry, I stitch over a thousand beads onto the canvas. Throughout the processes of staining and beading, a woman emerges from the canvas. I add beads until I am confident in the identity of the portrait.
The process is the most integral part of the work. Working with a large scale engages the entire body in the making process. Using my body and pushing it to its physical limits honours all of the women who came before me, who were not recognized for their contributions. Beads, needles, and thread represent women’s work and attempt to celebrate the sacrifices and strides women have made throughout history. These works acknowledge the profound impact women have had on me individually, and celebrate the condition of womanhood.
You can see more of Hannah’s work on her Instagram @hambonesart
Unwritten is an exhibition that seeks to explore the infinite possible ways that history could have played out. This work aims to subvert the expectations of a piece of art as something precious and valuable, to call back to the atrocities of the holocaust. Taking pieces from Adolf Hitler’s failed art career, drawing them into a book, then burning it, it felt like a poignant gesture and in a sense, poetic justice. The Holocaust was such a prominent and horrifying part of our history, which happened not even 100 years ago, and should not be forgotten. Rather than to reiterate the past, Unwritten calls to attention the limitless versions of history that did not come to pass due to the actions of one man with a country under his thumb. Almost asking the question; What is Hitler made it as an artist? Would the Nazis have burned so much cultural heritage? Would we have lost the millions of innocent souls? Would we even have had World War II? No matter how many different possibilities there are, we must not forget what happened and learn from the past to prevent history’s repetition.
This piece of art now ceases to exist but in a documented form through a variety of lenses-much alike most of our human history.
You can find more of Nerine’s work on Instagram @theartofnerine
You can view more of Ben’s work on Instagram @beejlang or online at https://www.benjaminpeterlang.com/.
The Domestic Interior is an installation that exhibits a soundscape composed of found audio clips displayed with the artist’s family kitchen table. Viewers are encouraged to sit at the table while listening to the soundscape.
Carmen Mattear is a multi-disciplinary artist who is compelled to collect media as data, and in this feat, patterns and anecdotes can emerge. The Domestic Interior is no exception. The audio is a result of sifting through different sources and combining them as a carefully constructed soundscape. Mattear believes that reality is a series of patterns, her practice revolves around seeking out these patterns.
From the Earth: Sun & Stone is an exhibition that explores human relationships with nature, with an emphasis on form, feeling, and experience. Through photography, sculpture, and painting I explore my own relationship with natural objects and aim to gain a better understanding of the earth and my place in the natural world. A major emphasis for each of these projects was in the making and the handling of objects, paying special attention to how they feel, the sounds they make, the processes they endure, as well as how they look. I examine what we can learn from working with the earth, and the connection that comes with it.
Memory Politics is an investigation of identity through the inheritance of surviving memories and the generation effects of colonialism. Due to forced immigration and colonialism, self-identity is affected by the survival and mourning of culture, language, trauma, and family. Through digital manipulation, such as glitching and data moshing, I will expose the vulnerabilities and disruption caused by passing down knowledge. The goal of this work is to provide hope and healing for the diaspora and encourage the labour of individual and communal efforts to connect and pass on tradition, culture, and language.
