Curriculum Vitae
Selected Exhibitions
2021 – Sacred Haunts, Beaux Arts, Brampton, Ontario
2021 – D31 Art Gallery, Summer Exhibition, Doncaster, UK
2021 – Portraits of Resilience, online AGO Toronto
2019 – Seven Shores, Waterloo, Ontario
2019 – The People's Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario
2014 – Mary Allen Studio Tour, Waterloo, Ontario
2014 – OCAD University 99th Graduation Exhibition. Toronto, Ontario
2014 – Awenda Inspired, Transit Space, OCADU, Toronto, Ontario
2014 – OCADU Group Exhibition, OCADU, Toronto, Ontario
2013 – Mary Allen Studio Tour, Waterloo, Ontario
2012 – Awenda Inspired, Awenda Provincial Park, Penetanguishene, Ontario
2009 – Visceral, Homer Watson House & Gallery, Kitchener, Ontario
2009 – The GEEE! In Genome, Kitchener Children’s Museum, Kitchener, Ontario
Media
2021 People’s Choice Award, Sacred Haunts, Beaux Arts Brampton
2014 Neil-Wycik Newsletter Art of the Month
2014 Surfacing: OCADU GradEx Catalogue
2013 – Martin, Shauna, and Cheyenne Twinner, eds. We Are All Treaty People. Toronto: University of Toronto, 2013. Print.
2013 Mary Allen Studio Tour: Artist Bio
Education
2010-2014 B.F.A. Drawing and Painting Major, minor in English, Ontario College of Art and Design University
Artist Statement
My thesis work explores the individual connection to the land through references of memory, myth and folklore. In exploring relationships to the land, I start with my own experiences. I aim to create something that is first and foremost about my own memories and dreams—in this case, something that references memory and “reality.”
I seek to interpret humanity’s mark on nature through a historical and mythological lens. Throughout my experiences in travelling through Ireland I have reconsidered my own relationship to nature. Ireland is a country that is full of myths and memories. The evidence of this is present in its landscapes from the crumbling ruins and ancient stone circles, to the ribbons tied around the branches of a “faery tree.” These narratives become an integral part of the sites and through awareness of these stories grow to be a part of our perception of the land.
The merging of place and story comment on the belief in another aspect of our world that is not so easily seen. The stories expose another realm of possibility, one that is described by the Irish word idiráit, an in-between place or parallel universe where the real and unreal are interwoven. Through our connection to nature, we are also asked to explore our relationship to the non-rational and the ways in which we incorporate these ideas into our perception of the world.
I also strive to show the “imprint” of humanity without showing humanity itself. I am interested in how nature and landscape reflect the passage of time, how manmade constructions are slowly faded and replaced by nature’s transitions. While the real stories behind these structures are lost, the folkloric and mythical traditions live on.
My experience and research has resulted in a body of work that references both place and history as well as memory and lived encounters. Larger works that are more informed by traditional landscape painting interact in a dialogue with smaller “memory fragments” that evoke the passage of time and the ontology of memory. Through my paintings I strive to provide a space that allows the viewer to see or experience a different perspective and to enable us to open the door to these possibilities.
