Ashton is a non-binary artist from Markham Ontario. Ashton's goal with their work is to take topics that scare them and turn it into something that empowers them and makes people laugh. Most of their work explores self hatred, mental health, sexuality and gender identity.

I was terrified for this piece to leave my bedroom as I hadn't yet told anyone in my life that I wanted to change my name to Ashton. Through making this piece I gained the confidence to take that big step into coming more into myself and I'm so glad that I did! This piece will always have a special place in my heart because of that.

Breakin My Stride

Acrylic

Callahan Bracken (he/him) is a Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist. His work consists largely of experimental animation and illustration. Bracken’s work focuses on themes of queer intimacy, self-exploration and the ways in which identity interacts with contemporary media.

Blue Wheel is a cyanotype animation printed onto canvas. Although I designed this piece largely from a place of intuition, I knew I wanted to create a four-frame looping animation. The medium lent itself to exploring ideas of repetition and cyclicality, which has started to become a running theme throughout my work. The spinning dice that border the piece create a feedback loop, wherein the animation appears to be ever-shifting but still constantly repeating. An animated self-portrait lives in the centre of the canvas, where he steadily confronts and collides with himself. Together, the eight Callahans’ form an almost-symmetrical, pulsing shape. Although it was mostly accidental, I found it comforting to see a strong sense of form emerge in a depiction of my own conflict and uncertainty. Since cyanotype printing is a UV-activated process, the clouded sky made printing a lot slower and put me at the mercy of Earth’s natural cycles. I had to adjust my art-making process to better please the sun. I think that in a strange way the printing process pushed me to pay more attention to the world around me, giving me a sense of connection that has been very absent from my life in quarantine.

Blue Wheel

Cyanotype, Canvas

Constant K likes to draw and make things with their hands. Their aim is to create work that is a little playful and a little uncomfortable.

Dog dukey is a mixed media collage and my final piece for Speech Project Artist Book. A combination of cut-up canvas, acrylic paint, pipe-cleaners, felt, construction paper, and poop humour spread across a 30x30cm canvas painted yellow, I hope 'dog dukey' evokes a silly sense of schadenfreude when you look at it.

dog dukey

Drawing, Animation, Mixed Media

I am a Hanoi born, Toronto artist who currently undergoes training in Drawing and Painting at OCAD University. Growing up as a Third Culture Kid and adapting between cultures allow my sense of identification to be emerged in the concept the self in relation to its phenomenon toward the outside world. 

My inspiration derives from the concept of seeking meanings through the slow banality of life. The creative process has adopted me as a medium in relation to the body of my work. By creating, the interaction between me and the outside world has become more meaning full as they become a part of my manifestation. 

Untitled

Acrylic, Canvas, Ink

Hello, my name is Mara Pendon. I am currently a university student specializing in English Literature. I am an avid reader, a café explorer, a nature wanderer. I am accustomed to words as my go-to form of art, specifically novel and poetry. Thus, Speech Project was an exciting opportunity for me to delve deeper into a more visual form beyond pen and paper and experience other mediums.  The purity of white and the charged energy associated with red form the base of the piece. The first layer depicts the perspective of a holy being whilst beneath, once a strip is peeled, portrays the perspective of the sinner which one often hides from the world. holy devil is an interactive piece showing that regardless of how the strips are lifted, all together, one at a time, a few of the front, it highlights the non-stop fluid battle of the self to maintain equilibrium of both sides. Moreover, holy devil highlights that despite these contrasting traits, they very much still are a part of the individual. 

Through the use of the medium and fused with words of an original poem, holy devil is a work that depicts the constant struggle for balance of two opposing extreme emotions: the desire to be good and pure as expected of the self versus the sinful and indecent that brings forth inward shame.

Holy Devil

Canvas Fabric, Acrylic, Gouache, Black Marker

Victoria Martin is a burgeoning creator whose art is as provoking as it is experimental. Though having worked the longest in photography she explores her creativity in various mediums. Their work is a way to contextualize the world around them and grow in understanding through creation.

I truly experience life the most when I feel as though no one is watching me. When I feel as though I am not being perceived. As I continued to work on the piece I included many eyes so that I had as a way to metaphorically confront the feeling of being perceived so that I could fully experience more of my life. 

Perception

Acrylic, Textile, Wire

Zawadi Bunzigiye is a Kenyan-Congolese artist based in Toronto who is currently studying Creative Writing at OCAD University. She has been published in magazines and she recently has had her work displayed in the "i word" exhibit curated by underdog in Montreal. Her work focuses on her relationship with the many inherently political aspects of her identity.

Part of why I draw and read and listen and write is to make sense of what has happened to me. I have a lot of experience in dealing with systems of oppression and the personal baggage that they bring. I am a female presenting, Black, neurodivergent survivor of abuse. And I struggle because many of these facets of my identity represent a struggle overall in a grander sense. So, this art piece for me represents the vastness of the range of emotions that I feel about that. I feel overwhelmed and minuscule as a part of multiple marginalized groups. I feel like I'm drowning sometimes. I'm reminded of how my Gran once told me that "life comes in waves". And seeing these waves of emotion are what connect me to the collective experience of humanity as a whole. And through that I can see that I am strange and in-categorizable part of that greater whole.

It Comes In Waves

Acrylic, Canvas

Mindy Huynh is a Toronto born artist who’s always had a soft spot for doodling and illustration. Over the years, she’s made a home and little world of her own in the odd drawings she creates. What was once just a hobby has evolved into an outlet for storytelling and healing, and a love letter to the peculiar things that inspire her.

This is a story of “almost.” The feeling of almost being enough but not quite making the cut. The feeling of adrenaline of almost reaching the finish line. This seemingly benign word can be as debilitating or motivating, depending on how you see it.  BLIP serves as a reminder to take a second and reflect on where your mind goes. Despite the craziness or colourful chaos in our lives, even the space between 99 and 100 holds the potential for change. 

BLIP

Acrylic, Gouache, Watercolour, Canvas

Ashley Beerdat is an emerging artist of Guyanese descent who grew up in Mississauga, Ontario. Ashley is a visual artist who paints mythological narratives based on her imagination and uses a distinct impasto style to explore traditional folktales in a contemporary manner. She graduated from Western University with a specialization in Criminology and Major in Art History and Visual Arts (2019). However, Ashley’s fascination with art began in her childhood as she would often spend most of her time drawing and reading folktales. Her naive approach to art is rather unattached from the mainstream art world which allows her to explore her unique personal visions. Ashley’s artistic themes gravitate towards the Outsider Art movement in which she is compelled to create art based off her inner visions of these elaborate fantasy worlds and requires no artistic training. Ashley was an artist in residence at Visual Arts Mississauga in 2020. Her work is held in Mississauga’s permanent corporate Art collection and has been featured in local galleries including the Peel Gallery and Museum Archives (PAMA). Ashley currently has a show at the Small Arms inspection building until December 4th 2020 as well as a virtual exhibition with Artscape. 

"Isolated Minds" is a body of work that draws upon my experience during the pandemic in which I often found myself feeling trapped in enclosed spaces and seeking a sense of freedom beyond the confines of my home. The work explores my relationship within the structure of the home and thinking about my connection to the outside world. I found my need to be closer to nature a way to cope with this new reality. The succulents and cactus plants signify the idea of self-sustainment and resilience as despite their isolated conditions they continue to flourish and grow. Under the unusual circumstances created by the pandemic, I find myself feeling like a stranger within my home looking at life from the inside out. This work represents my journey of self-reflection growth and learning to cope under unexpected circumstances. 

Isolated Minds

Gouache, Acrylic, Canvas