Ferhat Demirel

Imbued with a sense of isolation that traverses desolate land and cityscapes, A Night in Awatto portrays the capital city’s underbelly through a newcomer’s eyes. Social issues such as the opioid epidemic, housing crisis and poverty are shadows cast over Demirel’s pale figures by the city’s landmark “Ottawa” sign. The ceaseless portals found on the right side of the canvas offer an escape out of the apocalyptic setting depicted with an icy color palette, leading the viewer towards future paths that evoke a spirit of solace.

A Night in Awatto
Acrylics on canvas
60 x 96 in.

Stray Dog is an anthropomorphic portrait that draws attention to the sociopolitical state of the artist’s home country, Turkey, a nation known for its sympathy towards stray animals amongst many other cultural traits. Stray animals occupy Turkey’s cities and rural areas in large numbers, and are lightheartedly viewed as members of local communities and Turkish society. Let down, exploited and mistreated, Demirel’s malnourished Stray Dog confronts the viewer with its gaze, accentuating the moral and economic collapse that looms over the country.

Stray Dog
Acrylics on wooden panel
14 x 14 in.

Chris Glabb

Through contrasting images of clean and yellowing teeth arranged in a grid pattern, Untitled (Teeth in Pattern) draws attention to the extensive time periods between the artist’s visits to the dentist—an issue that is familiar to many Indigenous people due to unequal and inadequate access to health care and resources. With its realistic and nearly threatening imagery of teeth, Glabb’s work challenges the viewer to reflect on class disparity and the rights of Indigenous peoples by addressing the social stigma surrounding physical (and indirectly financial) insecurities. The Post-Pop Art sensibility employed by Glabb reinforces this stance, suggesting the universality of the issue.

Untitled (Teeth in Pattern)
Oil on wooden panel
16 x 40 in.

Melanie Goguen

Melanie Goguen’s Lost Toys series reflects on her childhood experiences of moving homes and the complex emotions that arise when we return. Ball explores the impact of time passing on a ball lying abandoned in autumn leaves. Jack depicts the endurance of a jack-in-the-box living out his own secret life after being left behind. Phone portrays a melancholy toy phone, glancing at its detached receiver. Through Gouguen’s depiction of neglected toys, she investigates feelings of nostalgia, regret and the sense of loss, both of people in our lives and our past selves, that comes with growing up.

Ball
Oil on canvas
26 x 30 in.
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Jack
Oil on canvas
26 x 30 in.
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Phone
Oil on canvas
26 x 30 in.
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Maxime B. Huneault

Maxime Boisvert-Huneault’s opulent sculptures invite us into a mysterious garden composed of various artificial plants, both drawn and sculpted. This synthetic oasis serves as what Boisvert-Huneault describes as “a sanctuary for [his] queer aesthetics to flourish.” The two figures stand opposite each other, creating a sense of tension, as the kneeling figure gazes beyond the other, vulnerably positioned on its back. These sculptures, based on Boisvert-Huneault’s own body, are described by the artist as “imperfect bodies that remember the emotional weight they carry and welcome the light they emanate.” La perle et la peau [The Pearl and the Flesh] provides a space in which to explore the duality of beauty and difficulty in vulnerability.

La perle et la peau
Beeswax, insulating foam, embroidery thread, pearls, rhinestones, artificial plants, Mylar, coloured pencils

Tyler Nykilchyk

In lie as a bug Tyler Nykilchyk explores the interrelationships between the artist, art creation and the viewer. Nykilchyk aims to invite viewers into an intimate observation of their struggle, allowing space for the viewer’s own reflection. The work creates an interesting tension with temporality between the perceived immediacy of the splashing of ink on the fabric, and the reality of the time commitment of cyanotypes. Nykilchyk laid on the work for over two hours, emulating the patience required in our aim to achieve self-acceptance in our bodies, and with ourselves.

lie as a bug
Cyanotype on canvas
4.5 x 11 ft.

Madeline Richards

The cool, reflective pastel waters of Madeline Richard’s So certain I was a jellyfish (to Betty Goodwin) invite us to wade into the work. The soft pinks of the figure’s flesh hint at the light chafing of skin, and gives us pause on our journey into the water, suggesting, in combination with the face-down flow of raven locks, that the figure within may have lingered beyond safety. Richard’s liquid scene reveals the fear that lays just below the surface, ready to break the tension of the meniscus.

So certain I was a jellyfish (to Betty Goodwin)
Oil on canvas
30 x 43 in.