Other

  • Backstories

    This mural features a backstage scene, with props and set building materials. It’s located behind the theatre, and I liked the parallels between a backstage and an alley—all the types of objects you can find in both areas, and how each of those objects have backgrounds and stories they help narrate. Quite a few of the objects featured in the mural have symbolic significance to the building and the community, such as the fire coming out of one of the vents (for when a fire blazed out of that very spot), and the watering can for a homeless man named Whiskey, who waters the plants and keeps the neighbourhood clean, and with whom I shared many lovely chats throughout the weeks I worked on the mural. My hope is that the objects in the mural will gain extra narratives, holding different significance for each viewer, as the piece ages into its surroundings.

  • Nest

    While the nature of my work is to live within the surreal, a world that I often describe as an escape from reality, it’s an incredibly fun challenge to interpret a very real theme or issue within the realm of my work. Often the elements that make it more fantastical, actually make it universally relatable, as it allows more people to see themselves in the work than a purely literal interpretation of the subject matter would allow. For this piece, “Nest”, I worked with the themes of inclusion and community and pondered what a safe space looked like for all of us. Whether it’s a home, a person, community, or even a sense of calm we find within ourselves; I wanted to create a piece that felt like the place someone would go when they need a safe haven. Wherever it is, I hope you find your “Nest.

  • Escape Into Action

    I was super excited to be invited! They were offering a really large piece of real estate and I wanted to come correct. The wall would be the largest mural I’ve had the opportunity to paint at 91’x28′. The concept came from my love of vintage movie posters painted by the masters Bob Peak, Frank McNamara, Drew Struzen and Rock’n Jelly Bean, to name a few. Their painted and illustrated posters always had jam packed action scenes worked into an intuitive narrative about the movie. I wanted my work to have the same graphic composition. I love working with themes in my work so once I had the story of a movie poster about graffiti, the ideas started flowing. The movie “Escape into Action” is about a graffiti writer in ’70s New York City navigating the cultural landscape on his quest for fame. The mural has cops in pursuit, explosions, rival gangs, sultry vixens, and a heavy dose of graphic design. I included some movie copy at the left of the mural giving insight to the mural’s content and included my crew’s names in the credits. The mural took a total of nine days to complete and over 200 cans of Sugar Artistic Acrylic. The process had its fair share of obstacles including some rain delays and getting stuck in the lift due to local kids stealing the keys while I was up at 30′ painting. SMH… Cool heads prevailed and I’m really excited to share the finished results. Prior to arriving in Canada I spent so much time in the design stages of the mural’s concept that I produced an actual movie poster print to accompany the painted mural.

  • Family Life & Ancestral Traditions

    Bell Box mural located in Aurora by Sherlyn Hu & Ren Lonechild. From Sherlyn’s Instagram: “I’m honored to complete a Bell Box Mural with the talented @renlonechild bringing together a storytelling of Indigenous and Chinese cultures. Ren’s story depicts the sharing of knowledge from Mother Earth. Sherlyn’s story speaks to the inter generational love through symbols like a warm bowl of soup, set against Mid-Autumn festival when we celebrate family reunion.”

  • Sanguine

    Sanguine, a paper cut, is part of a series of Humours made in 2020-2021. The theory of the Four Humours was developed by Hippocrates, as he believed that the human body was made up of four components. These 4 Humours needed to be regulated and balanced for people to remain healthy. Four Humours were liquid within the body- blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile. These Humours could also be connected to the 4 seasons, Yellow bile (summer), Black Bile (autumn), Phlegm (winter) and Blood (spring). Sanguine, is a ghost or shapeshifter, hoping to lure the viewer with beauty, wonder and playfulness, but also a “trojan horse” of confrontation and fear.

  • Black Lives Matter

    I took this photo at the Black Lives Matter rally at the Legislative building in June 2020. Justice for Black Lives Winnipeg were looking for black photographers to photograph the event in attempt to give black creatives the opportunity to tell their own stories. It was an experience unlike any other because as an artist I have never been in a space that was not only so welcoming but created for black artists. The event was also organized by young black femme community organizers so that was very special too, I saw myself reflected in them and that made the task of taking photos very personal. This photo is of one of the speakers at the event, Kayla Fernandes, who was reciting a poem that they had written. Personally, it was the most emotional part of the rally and Kayla’s emotions really came through in the photo, you can see the passion and the pain in their eyes. This photo is a product of the entire day and event as a whole, it is one of the best pictures I have taken because the environment I was put in allowed me and encouraged me to create from my own perspective. And as a black woman in the photography field being given the chance to create in this space might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. This is the photo I have been waiting to take ever since I first picked up a camera all those years ago.

  • Paint the City, 2019

    A collective of murals completed by youth aged 10-13 from the “Paint the City” summer camp at Design Exchange in Toronto. Participants learned about creative placemaking and how murals animate public space to encourage community. In collaboration with Design Exchange & Para Paints. Completed in 2019.

  • Still I Rise

    ‘Still I Rise’ honors the strength and perseverance of farmers and also seeks to remind us of our collective power in the face of injustice. The farmer’s protests in India are inextricably linked to the global agrarian crisis, impacting farmers and equitable access to food.

  • Cellular to Stellar

    A series of murals were made to ask questions about our experience: Emily Rose Michaud’s mural was installed at Sainte-Cécile de Masham’s Elementary School. The mural provoked reflection on a series of questions to which the public was invited to respond. Two science and health professionals – a data scientist and a health advisor on COVID – developed the questions. A QR code displayed on the murals then directed the public to a web platform with the questions to solicit answers.

  • Swift

    Created in partnership with the Downtown Barrie BIA. The mural depicts a colourful and resilient woman who lives in balance with the surrounding nature. She celebrates the many women-owned businesses in the neighbourhood and honors their feminine creative energy. She’s paired with chimney swifts, a threatened migratory species that travels from places as far away as Chile and Brazil. They take shelter in chimneys, enjoying their protection high off the ground. They remind of us our interconnectedness with nature and act as a resilient symbol for Downtown Barrie.