2025

The Kingston Prize - Submission

“Confrontational Canadian” | 24” x 30” | Acrylic on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

The theme of the submitted work is “Confrontational Canadian”, which explores Canadian identity in the face of existential threat by the United States. Canada is a rich, diverse country with a global reputation for being a kind, polite, and humorous people. But what happens when we’re challenged? Are we still polite? What does it look like when a Canadian is confronted with an existential crisis? What does a confrontational Canadian look like? I decided to use my own image as an avatar for these feelings. In this self-portrait, I attempted to capture a look of absurdity, defiance and fed-upness. 

The portrait is raw and as far from “airbrushed” as possible to relay the real-world circumstances in which Canadians find themselves. It is not a portrait of idealized, impossible beauty but the richness of nature and reality. Through a rugged lens, we see the effect of a tense friendship lost forever.

I used acrylic on 69.96cm x 76.2cm gallery-wrapped canvas to capture the immediate energy I felt. The size of the canvas is supposed to be imposing - far from the polite and meek Canadian stereotype. It is meant to be larger than life for this larger-than-life moment in our history. Acrylic paints allowed me to build up the texture I desired and to express myself in real time.

My influences are Yousef Karsh, Jenny Saville, and Emily Carr because their works have a sense of story and a grander purpose that reflects and shapes society.