A MIXED PLAYLIST INSPIRED BY: KC HALL

THE TRENDSETTER (9FT X 6FT) BY KC HALL

Featured Artist of the Month KC Hall shared in his interview with Hannah Seraphim that he dedicates much of his time to revitalizing Indigenous culture, language, and pride with youth in his community. This includes teaching kids how to spray paint their name in their language or word of choice onto a canvas, facilitating a youth skateboard building workshop with artist, filmmaker, and lands-based educator Calder Cheverie.

"I want [Indigenous youth] to set the greatest example they can for our people...They can be successful artists. They can do whatever they set their minds to.” - KC Hall

The inspiration for this month's playlist is KC’s grafitti artwork ‘The Trendsetter’ and his vision of a future tied to rewriting Indigenous history.

Meet November Artist of the Month: Odera Igbokwe

The Ori, The Connector from the collection Dance of the Summoner, reclaiming and alchemizing Nigerian and Afro-diasporic deities, orishas, and sacred traditions.

Odera Igbokwe [oh-deh-rah ee-boh-kway] grew up in a childhood full of creativity and play. “Making art is very much something we’re prone to do as children, so for me, that was very much my safe place as a super-expressive creative child. I loved dancing, I loved playing, I loved my sister and me pretending to be Sailor [Moon] Scouts or Power Rangers,” Igbokwe reminisces as they sit in their studio surrounded by collections of their paintings over the years. Now, a professional painter and illustrator, Igbokwe channels that same energy into their work today. “It’s always been about building a life that spans creativity at its core foundation. I never have to think ‘time to get creative,’ as it’s really about constantly flowing in and out of creativity,” says Igbokwe.

While at Brown University at the Rhode Island School of Design, Igbokwe’s childhood influences of cartoons, comics, and video games transferred through to the art they made. They took this inspiration into their concept art: “I was just scratching the surface of the storytelling mediums that I loved growing up and being like, yeah, I’d love to do that but make it my own and feature black people, isn’t that an amazing idea? I think as I rested in my education, I scratched more of the surface. It was more about the storytelling of personal story and identity interwoven with illustration and painting,” Igbokwe describes.

The influence of pop culture nerdy fandom (as described by Igbokwe) is evident in their work, intricately mixed with their exploration of storytelling into Afro-diasporic mythologies and Black resilience. These intersectional themes come from Igbokwe’s focus on identity and otherness. “It’s [about] being a child of Nigerian immigrant parents, a child of diaspora not really knowing where to fit in, of being queer within those spaces, and figuring out gender identity and being like, yeah I’m nonbinary, but I don’t want to take up too much space because male privilege and male passing privilege is a thing,” says Igbokwe.  

Mami Wata from the collection Dance of the Summoner, reclaiming and alchemizing Nigerian and Afro-diasporic deities, orishas, and sacred traditions.

Igbokwe’s art aims to allow those who feel othered to feel seen: “I recognize more and more that what I value the most is the intimate connection of feeling seen between a viewer [of my art] and myself.”

The process of creating these themes within their work is an emotional journey. Though, it’s evident that a joyful resilience comes through many of Igbokwe’s paintings. Through earthy, rich, and vibrant colour palettes to the embodied movement in the stillness of a painting, Igbokwe creates magic with each stroke of their brush.

When asked what their superpower is, Igbokwe pauses to contemplate. From someone who has delved deep into comic multiverses, the question seems daunting. However, when it comes to Igbokwe’s artwork, they know exactly what magic they bring: “It’s treating all these different aspects and very different intersectional energies with respect and dignity to create something that is both old and new. With a lot of my work, I like having the abstract feeling of not necessarily knowing where or when you are, and sometimes I think my work is envisioning the future. But, a lot of the time, it also looks like a very distant past. Merging those things, whether it’s time or cultures across the African diaspora in one cohesive piece, is what makes me excited to create.”

Cortex Prime, illustration by Odera Igbokwe

Burning Pyre from a collection of illustrations for "Snow Globe Skyline".

Since moving to Vancouver in mid-2017, Igbokwe had just started getting acquainted with the art scene before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and racial unrest grew with Black Lives Matter protests erupting in North America.

From this lens, Igbokwe has received some of the most attention and “success” (as they use their fingers in quotations) in their whole career. “On one hand, it’s like, oh yeah, thank you so much for supporting me and looking at my work and listening, but on the other hand, it almost feels like a blood sacrifice. Oh, you’re paying attention because you’re finally recognizing all these things that we’ve been saying for hundreds of years.”

Igbokwe refers to their intuition to ensure that they are authentically moving through the world: “It’s important for me to really have clarity and purpose and not necessarily respond immediately to the moment and know that as I’m creating, I’m thinking of a lifetime of a body of work, as opposed to ‘how do I respond and capitalize off this terrible thing right now at this moment.’”

Illustration for "FIYAH: Magazine of Speculative Black Fiction" Issue 16: JOY (Fall 2020 Edition)

During times like these, Igbokwe finds their work to be “foundational, generative, and healing. It kept me from spiralling off the deep end too much. I feel like productivity can be such a myth and toxic thing, but when productivity is linked to just creating new things, then I have to recognize that also brings me joy and is a foundational part of who I am.”

So, what’s next for Igbokwe? Recently, they just completed their Black Crown collection, which is a series of drawings, paintings, and mixed media studies exploring the styles, textures, and functions of Black hairstyles across the African diaspora. They are currently working on a new collection to be released close to February and have signed four different gallery shows in 2021. 

Keep up with Igbokwe on Instagram and visit their website here.

MEET SEPTEMBER ARTIST OF THE MONTH: EMILIE BORODINE

PHOTO BY EMILIE BORODINE

Few people are brave enough to take the leaps that Vancouver-based ceramicist Emilie Borodine took to land her career.  

Since taking her first pottery class two years ago, the France-born founder of Sowhere Project has made a full time business out of selling her handmade ceramics. 

“It was crazy! Not something I would say to everyone, like ‘Just quit everything and do it,’” Borodine admits. “But I think it's what I needed at this stage in my life, I needed a break but wasn't immediately expecting anything from it.”

Years of travelling and living abroad have made Borodine somewhat of a minimalist. So when wanderlust brought her to Vancouver from Wellington, New Zealand, her interest in pottery stemmed from a home decor debacle. 

“How can I fill up my house without having any belongings?” Borodine recalls. “So I’m like ‘Let’s do plants.’ Well now plants are growing, so I need planters.” 

She describes feeling like time had stopped during classes, to the point where she had to be asked by her pottery instructor to leave at closing time. 

“I love this feeling of being completely disconnected,” says Borodine. 

So when she saw one local artist was subletting their work studio for the summer, she jumped at the opportunity to take it over. While it’s challenging to sleep next to a pottery wheel, today Borodine’s studio is also where she calls home—living in an east Vancouver building full of artists. 

“Vancouver is really welcoming,” says the self-taught success. “People just love seeing someone who’s really enthusiastic.”

Borodine attributes her zeal for ceramics to the learning curve that comes with taking on a new craft as an adult. 

BY EMILIE BORODINE

“When it’s not your trade, you’re just learning the technique, not exploring a style. It’s nice to experiment, but you need the technique,” she says. “When it’s like that, you’re just a blank canvas, you are raw.”

Her collection of goods, handmade with locally sourced materials, include earring holders, wall hangings, to-go mugs, and intricate vases. Breasts continue to inspire many of her projects. 

“We all have breasts! Sometimes men have big breasts, so having something we can all identify with ourselves,” Borodine explains of her muse. 

BY EMILIE BORODINE

BY EMILIE BORODINE

Several people have thanked her after seeing their own bodies represented through her work. 

“They're like: ‘Thank you for making me feel like my breasts are pretty!’ I'm like ‘Of course your breasts are pretty!’ So that message, for me, makes me want to keep working. For people who had maybe surgery because of cancer, or with breastfeeding, it's really important to them.”

Whether they love it or they hate it, Borodine says people are vocal about her work. 

BY EMILIE BORODINE

“Some people will really scream ‘Boobs!’” She says, adding that others have reacted with judgement over humour. “It brings a reaction, and I like that because it makes people speak about it—not to necessarily sexualize it, just being comfortable with it. It’s just a body, it’s normal.”

In a pandemic twist, her artist gig has held up despite safety measures cancelling several regular markets. The societal shift inspired her to put focus more on her Etsy shop. Previously, she had shied away from social media, but after picking up her presence, Borodine finds she’s able to connect with people who may be too shy to approach her in-person at markets. 

Amid the global uncertainty on what lies ahead, Bolodine hopes her future will involve collaborations with organizations she shares values with—donating partial proceeds from her sales to benefit causes like sex education, environmentalism and feeding the hungry. 

BY EMILIE BORODINE

BY EMILIE BORODINE

“It's a long journey, so I would say I don't know what's next. I just know I still have a lot of things to learn from it.” 

A MIXED PLAYLIST INSPIRED BY: JOY GYAMFI

PHOTOGRAPHY: QUEER INTIMACIES SERIES BY JOY GYAMFI

Featured Artist of the Month Joy Gyamfi shared in her interview with SAD's web editor Becca Clarkson that photography for Joy is to be able to show people what I'm seeing. A tangible way to highlight the beauty that might be overlooked by ourselves, like saying – "Do you see how great you look? This is how I see you, this is how others see you." - Joy Gyamfi

The inspiration for this month's playlist is Joy's photo series "Queer Intimacies" and Spotify playlist series "Consensual Makeout Party". This mix is filled with intimate beats that balance sensuality, and strength, to allow you to carry a perfect tongue locking rhythm. Let's get cozy because this will spark any makeout session!

MEET JULY ARTIST OF THE MONTH: JOY GYAMFI

At 24 years old, Ghana-born Joy Gyamfi describes herself as a “Jack of all trades, mediocre at some.” During her two decades calling the Lower Mainland home, Gyamfi says she’s stuck to one belief: Anything she wants to do is something she can do. While she’s still working through her imposter syndrome, the queer black artist explained to SAD how community keeps bringing her back to her camera. 

PHOTOGRAPHY: QUEER INTIMACIES SERIES BY JOY GYAMFI

SAD: How does being called an artist sit with you? 

Joy Gyamfi: It does feel weird to claim the title of an artist. Only recently have I really felt like I can call myself a photographer versus someone that takes photos. I have to remind myself that it's okay to claim that. 

SAD: What do you think the turning point was for you? 

JG: It's something I still struggle with to be honest. When I had some of my pieces exhibited, it started to feel real and tangible. Most of my work before then had been mainly on instagram and my website. It was such a surreal feeling to have the photos I had taken printed in a physical form and to see that on a wall.  To see that, I was like "Oh okay, this is real." 

SAD: When did photography come into your life?

JG: I've been taking photos casually since I was 12 years old. I just started taking photos of my best friend in our neighbourhood. I had stopped and started over the years, it kind of tied into that imposter syndrome because not feeling like I could actually be a photographer, artist, or whatever language.

SAD: What's your elevator pitch for the kind of photography you do?

JG: Community is something that's really important to me. It grounds me and everything that I do, and so a lot of my photography is community based. I prefer portrait style photography, and now, what I like to focus on is highlighting more marginalized communities. For example, my queer intimacies series looks at queer relationships and the multiple forms they can exist—between friends, lovers, individuals. 

PHOTOGRAPHY: QUEER INTIMACIES SERIES BY JOY GYAMFI

SAD: What's it like being an artist right now — amid a global uprising against racism, during a pandemic, around pride month — there must be a lot of feelings you want to express!

JG: I think art plays an extremely important role, especially when we're thinking about current events. In relation to COVID-19, with more free time, people were able to consume more media—watching movies, TV shows, listening to podcasts and reading books. These are all things and content that are created and provided by artists. So I think it's important to note that in this time, art is what we're seeking either to give ourselves joy, or pleasure, or comfort in an otherwise really uncertain fraught and distraught time. 

PHOTOGRAPHY: QUEER INTIMACIES SERIES BY JOY GYAMFI

The relationship between art and activism is important to highlight as well, because art can be used to start a conversation. Through public art for example, I've seen a lot of large displays of Black Lives Matter painted on streets. In terms of activism, I think we should go beyond conversation, we should be acting and try to make tangible change. But I think art can be used as a way to disseminate information. If you're looking at social media there's been so many graphic posts about what's going on. There's so many ways for art to be involved and tie into activism and I try to do my best in my role. I have some upcoming projects that I want to explore, like a black hair series, a series on tattooing on dark skin. I'm a black person and I have tattoos and all of them are currently black ink only, which is a conscious choice I've made because I'm aware of the lack of education around colour tattooing on dark skin. 

SAD: What stages are you at in terms of these projects?

JG: I'm definitely the kind of person that has a bunch of ideas all the time. I struggle to make them all become realities. Part of that is through funding. I find it difficult as a black queer person to find funding that is specific to marginalized communities and specific to digital art. So right now I'm in the process of applying for grants and funding, because I don't want to keep talking about my projects—I want to make them happen, and upgrade some of my equipment. 

SAD: What about photography captures your artistic message? 

JG: For me photography is really about highlighting and representing communities that are often marginalized and put to the side and are not celebrated. A really key part of my work is that I want people to see themselves the way that I see them. I'm often described as a cheerleader or a hype person to my friends. I'm really encouraging and I want my photography to be able to show people what I'm seeing. I've really struggled with self esteem and I find it's really easy to brush compliments off. But I feel like through photos, it's another tangible way to show someone "Do you see how great you look? This is how I see you, this is how others see you."

PHOTOGRAPHY: QUEER INTIMACIES SERIES BY JOY GYAMFI

SAD: Do you have a project you're most proud of?

JG: My queer intimacies series, and it's ongoing. So I have a couple different installations of them. I work with a lot of different people within my community. It's the project that I started getting...I don't know if publicity is the right word, but it's when I started getting more out there. It was my first exhibit, which was a group exhibit, but still really exciting. I was so amazed that people came to see my art. I felt very seen and loved. 

SAD: What's your least favourite part of photography? 

JG: Indoor event photography. I really struggle with feeling like I'm showcasing an event instead of people themselves. I've decided I'm no longer going to do that. Photography is a really pleasurable experience for me, and I don't want to do projects just because of the money. So I'm putting my creative goals first.

SAD: How important is it to set boundaries as an artist? 

JG: Really important. So many people will ask things of artists or photographers or other creatives, assuming that it's easy, and I wish that there was more compassion and respect for what we do as people. It can be hard to set boundaries, especially for someone who feels like they're just starting out, even though I'm not, but you want to say yes to everything because it feels like exposure is a way to pay. I think that's problematic. I have a cheeky note on my website that says "If you mention exposure as a form of payment I will privately laugh at you and publicly drag you." That's just because we can't pay bills with exposure. You wouldn't offer a plumber exposure to fix your pipes, right? 

SAD: Do you feel like this moment in time is a pivotal point for you as an artist? 

JG: Absolutely, I really feel the need and desire to be putting out work that aligns with activism, and a way to combat anti-blackness and racism. Now is a time when these conversations are starting to become more global and more frequent. These are the times they're starting to gain traction, so I feel extremely motivated to put out work. 

SAD: Anything or anyone else you’d like to plug?

JG: The future is you and me is a program designed to support young women of colour to take on leadership positions in arts, cultural, and creative industries.

Some local black photographers and artists I love: Kriss Munsya, Michel Kamanzi, Nya Lewis, Joy Ngenda and Joshua Ngenda.

Find out more at www.roughclub.ca or via Instagram @roughclub

A MIXED PLAYLIST INSPIRED BY: KRISS MUNSYA

RED CURTAINS FROM THE SERIES “THE ERASER” BY KRISS MUNSYA

Featured Artist of the Month Kriss Munsya shared in his interview with SAD's web editor Becca Clarkson that his version of an artist is changing through time. “I would say it would be someone who has something to say or something to show. Someone who's willing to show their weaknesses and has something to tell. I would say that because obviously, you think you would need some technical skills. But at the end, the art is just you sending the message and people receiving that message you know? … You say something and people receive it.“ -Kriss Munsya

Kriss’ photo Red Curtains inspired this month’s playlist filled with Black artists and singer-songwriters. This mix will not solve social injustices, but it shows that music can be a powerful vessel for expression, and change while providing a sense of hope and beauty.