Mixed

AJ Kluck

I have been shaped by colonial and western ways of being and knowing; and I acknowledge that the goal of the colonial machine is to separate people from themselves, from their communities, from their land, from their language. So I make art as an act of resistance, as an act of personal expression, as an act of love. I continue to slowly return to my ancestor's ways of being and knowing. I am learning to redefine what strength is, what care looks like, and what community means to me. I learn and I learn, and I unlearn and I listen. I often do not know what I am doing, but I try my best.

Portraits of Cheryl Foggo and Nina Rosales

Allan Brent Rosales

My portraits celebrates Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour living in Moh'kinsstsis/Calgary. Namely, Cheryl Foggo and Monina Rosales.

I took their photos, sketched them and created their large-scale digital portraits. I can't wait to share them with Arts Commons Audiences.

I am a multi-disciplinary artist and my art practice includes drawing, photography, portraits, murals, and poetry/spoken word. Most recently, I have been working on a collection of portraits using my multi-modal approach to making art and a collection of English-Tagalog poems.

The Emperor Is Naked: Now What?

Geraldine M. Ysselstein

This exhibit explores the classic folk tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” which is a story about an Emperor who is obsessed with wearing beautiful clothes. One day, two weavers say they will weave clothes for the Emperor with the most beautiful colours and patterns. They claim that what they will weave is so fine that foolish and unworthy people won’t be able to see it. All the townspeople including the Emperor pretend to be able to see the beautiful clothes that the weavers make, less they be considered unintelligent. The Emperor then proceeds to “wear” the clothes in a procession in his town for all to see. Everyone remarks on how beautiful the clothes are until a child says, “But, the Emperor is naked!” The Emperor knows this is true, but continues on in the procession.

In this exhibit, I explore the theme of white supremacy culture as being the naked clothing that the Emperor wears. I ask, why is white supremacy culture observed, but ignored? What is the fear of truly acknowledging it? What is being protected? Why do the people in the story encourage the Emperor to wear these clothes of white supremacy culture? When the child in the story says the emperor is naked and the people acknowledge the truth of it, why does nothing change about the Emperor? What about the townspeople? 

Weaving the word “naked” helped me to understand that the weavers in the story were weaving what everyone could already see, but wouldn’t acknowledge. They weren’t swindlers or conniving like they have been made out to be in this classic folk tale, but they were speaking the truth of what is.

In my second piece, I explored how weaving a portrait photograph leads to the distortion of one’s image. This distortion helped me to visualize the distortion that the townspeople feel, but do not express which is this: the distortion of white supremacy culture can be felt individually, but it is experienced collectively. Additionally, that white supremacy is experienced both internally and externally.   

Shadow Work

MOSS

These pieces are all reflections of my own journey towards understanding myself. There was a moment in October when I was taken to emergency, the electricity in my heart almost gave out. These works draw from varying sources, such as Tarot, Greek and Roman myth, and the work of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. This was a direct consequence of my own actions, and failure to respect traditional Cree protocols. These pieces, thematically linked in black, are an exploration of self-themes and what is known in some communities as "shadow work". This small exhibition is an examination of how our actions affect us, how we determine our path, those parts of ourselves unseen and unsightly, and our many many mistakes.

I create art that serves as a mirror through color and symbol, inviting introspection and reflection. Transitioning from creating symbolic pieces rooted in self-reflection, my focus now shifts towards expressive works celebrating the vibrant beauty of life. I view art as an indispensable part of the human experience, a veil through which we can question and examine ourselves and the current times – from ephemeral human emotions to the stark realities of contemporary society. It is an exploration of the shadow and the po