Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Defective #9611

Defective #9611 (40"x50")
This painting portrays one of Canada's eugenics victims, Mary (Mamie) Negrey (1892-1971). We see her face as she was in her old age not long before she died destitute. Beside this, we see an image of her as a young woman in happier times, before she was incarcerated for most of her adult life. After that, she became #9611. She endured incredible suffering and remained without voice while countless acts of injustice were committed against her, primarily because of her deformity. She had Kyphosis and was called a "hunchback." The building looming over the figures is the Mitchner Centre where the eugenics program was administrated from 1928 to 1972.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

New Painting: Refuge from the Street

My newest work is entitled Refuge from the Street. I will be showing this painting  (48"x52"), at the Filmapalooza & Artwalk, Thursday, April 5th 2018 at the Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre (10440 - 108 Street, Edmonton, Alberta) 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. I'm looking forward to it!

The street kid standing in the foreground is wearing a purple jacket which has been transformed from its former black colour. The transformation is due to an angelic stream of purple, the source of which is the female figure on the left side of the painting. The purple represents hope, amidst the consuming darkness of his current reality. The tinges of yellow which mingle with the purple is the colour the jacket will become once his transformation is complete; finally hope becomes his new reality and he finds refuge from the street.