ARTISTS: Soap Black, Angel Chi, Ben Choi, Jolene Elmhirst, Pola Gorodkova, Jillian Hernandez, Amanda Lam, Anthony Magnani, Parastoo Mahmoudi, Isaac Mosna, Hiroshi Nakatsugawa, Joey Navarro, Athena Nemeth, Paulina Padilla, Camille Paget, Jessica Pyo, Eden Rafuse, Brianna Ramagnano, Lee Reid, Alicia Rout, Dayna Schaly, Aly Singh, Bri Vermeer, Heath Walton, Yicheng Wu.

Curatorial Statement: PathoGEN Error: Compiling 2020.

Twenty-four cross-disciplinary students at OCAD University have created this online exhibition situating their personal experiences with the ongoing pandemic. This show is the culminating activity for the third year COVID-19 Responsive Art course. Through initial class discussions we learned that at the beginning of the pandemic, many students were excited to be at home for a small duration of time. There was still a sense of hope that “lockdown” would be swift and short. As the pandemic continued and worsened, those feelings of excitement slowly turned into fear of the future and a general state of anxiety. To begin the coursework, students reflected on how artists in the past responded to crises such as the 1918 Pandemic, the AIDS Epidemic, Idle No More, the Civil Rights Movement, Genocide and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Through this research, students developed a deep understanding of the impact's artists have had on society during these troubled times. Research in the class also included a scan of existing international COVID-19 exhibitions to experience an artistic conversation with artists and makers outside of their class collective.

In the second part of the semester, students set out to create their art in response to the pandemic in an effort express their own unique experiences during the various stages of quarantines and shutdowns across the world. Some artists took a more positive and uplifting approach, and others focused on the melancholy and pain they have been feeling during this time of upheaval and social isolation. The main themes in the resulting work include mental health, environmental impacts, the passage of time and the lack of touch. The overall mood evoked by these pieces is an ominous one, often hidden behind a mask of bright colours and energetic mark-making. Many students found themselves without access to shops and studios in which to make work. Forced to adapt to new environments and processes, students moved to utilize a variety of mediums, from digital media, painting, videography often while reusing otherwise discarded and sustainable materials. This shows us clearly that many people have taken different paths to process the changes COVID-19 has had on their lives. For some, this is a means to focus on the environmental impact of widespread single-use-PPE use; for others, it is a space to address the evolving concepts of home, togetherness, safety and security; for many, it is a reflection on their restricted movement and ongoing upheaval throughout the world. This unique course provided a historic opportunity for students to express their emotions and responses during this difficult time through their visual practice. As a result, many beautiful and emotional pieces were created. We hope that viewers will enjoy exploring this impactful show and find solace in how we express our common experiences!

JOEY NAVARRO

❝ Something that a lot of people can sympathize with right now is how quarantine is affecting everyone, be it emotionally, mentally or physically. It’s a drastic change to how everyone used to function prior to the pandemic, and as social creatures, it’s definitely taken its toll. ‘Still Life’ is a small series that attempts to convey that ‘stillness’ that everyone has taken up on lately, while using imagery of things that only happen when something is stationary for too long. Things like fungus only growing on damp, decaying matter, to a bird being able to nest in something unmoving, and even allowing dust and webs to accumulate. 'Still Life' speaks to how ‘unmoving’ this year has felt to the masses. ❞

Joey Navarro is a freelance digital artist based in Mississauga, Canada who focuses on character design, 2D illustration and animation. He is currently enrolled as a fourth year integrated media student, involving his work with installations from time to time. Navarro works primarily in drawing people, while using imagery to cater towards different narratives. A lot of his works touch on talking about different messages through the symbolism used. Occurring imagery tend to be biblical or mythological, while also touching on queer topics as a queer artist. You can find more of his works on Instagram and Twitter under @fiorrets.

ANGEL CHI

"2020 ERROR", Mix media containing digital illustrations on photographs, makeup and animations, 1280 x 720px, 2020 by Angel Chi.

❝ As we rely on technology to keep in touch with friends and family during this dire time, this piece similarly also makes use of that technology to create a piece that resonates with the artists as well as a majority of the population during the lockdown. The work itself consists of 8 images which as photographs of myself as a figure, in addition to a few digital illustrations alongside each image. The title, 2020 ERROR is something a lot have been talking about on social media given all that has been happening each within since the new year started which does not only consist of the pandemic. Every image is to represent the different stages of the lockdown that many can relate to today. Starting from the beginning of the pandemic, before everyone was told to be in quarantine. To the uncertainty, we all could’ve felt such as accepting the coronavirus as a pandemic and that we all need to contribute to lessening the rise in case, leading us to our present time, where it has been almost a whole year and we all have come to terms with the new regulations and the “new normal” that has become of the present day. Proceeding each day with extra caution, tired of hearing the news of rising cases or anxious to hear about the news, simply becoming accustomed to the lifestyle as if the cycle of our day-to-day has become a swirling circle. At times there are even feelings of drowning, in which all of these thoughts are gathered and presented. The images are compiled into a video as they transition into each other through the swirling and how quickly time is passing. It raises the question if time is real, especially with so much time to ourselves compared to the bustling routine to get to work or school before the pandemic. ❞

Angel Chi is a current OCAD University 3rd year student aiming for a degree in Fine Arts. Although she is studying in a drawing and painting program, she often works in many different mediums and styles such as photography, acrylic, watercolour etc. She currently is striving to open her own online shop that sells her sticker designs and prints while indulging in her hobbies with anime and k-pop as both are big inspirations in her art career as well as personally. Angel has worked with many professors during her 1st and 2nd year at the university that is well-versed in all sorts of art forms. She is rather open to trying new things and has acquired knowledge in printmaking and animations as well. As an artist, she hopes to convey messages that come to her from her observations of day-to-day life and fun memories in her illustrative-like digital artworks. You can find more of her works on Instagram under @axchiiii.

CAMILLE PAGET

❝ In a time where being around each other is potentially dangerous we must come together in other forms and not lose our love and fragility that we all have come from. In the womb the first sense we develop is touch. At eight weeks we begin to touch our lips and we are introduced to ourselves as we feel our face. At approximately 11 weeks we feel the rest of our bodies. Knowing we begin with touch is reassuring to me. Maybe because we come from touch and we begin with touch this is why we can long for it so much. Call yourself back to the child of 8 weeks old and when you begin to touch your face this time understand you touch the face of humanity. Understand this face belongs to all that we are capable of. We identify as humans but identities are not really formed by our words, they are formed by facts and actions. The word humanity comes from the Latin word humanities, which is defined by words such as human nature, civilization, and kindness. Kindness is the key word. We are all capable of kindness. If I could give advice to the world at this time I would say to use our abilities to nurture one another. Empathize and to be curious. Imagine what you would have felt at 8 weeks old. I imagine you would have felt love. ❞

Camille Paget is from Collingwood Ontario and working on her bachelors degree of fine arts at OCAD University. Camille is a mixed media artist whose work is figurative and conceptually based. Camille comes from a background in dance and uses her understanding of the body and the way it moves to create figurative works that are representational and invoke viewers curiosity. Camille often captions her artwork with sections of her writing or poetry. Using untraditional materials within some of her work such as her hair and/or blood, leaves, flowers, seeds etc. she creates to provoke viewers and their relation to the natural world. Death and rebirth are recurring themes in Camille's work. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @aches_npanes.

HIROSHI NAKATSUGAWA

❝ For A15, I wanted to visually portray the psychic and physical forces which the covid pandemic conjured in my mind. This is an event which requires isolation, but we remain connected to each other in surreal and ever present ways. This has changed how I live in my body in relation to others. It has become digitized and morphed. While we may not be able to feel or see each other, the weight of the world nonetheless weighs heavy on our shoulders. The figure in the piece is morphing with the arms which surround it. This creates a surreal and hyperreal environment which reflects how I have been existing and feeling in our present reality. Minor gestures of touch, such as hand-holding, have become perverse and those we share the world with are more distant than ever. ❞

Hiroshi Nakatsugawa is a Japanese-Canadian artist working and living in Canada. His work draws inspiration from the depths of the internet, feelings, and monsters to create bold and colourful drawings in order to explore the perceived and imaginary world. He is currently a student at OCAD University, and has exhibited in numerous group shows. You can find more of his works on Instagram under @babi_child or visit his site, https://hiroshinakatsugawa.com

ALY SINGH

"bubblewrapped" Video, 2020 by Aly Singh

❝ The last six months of quarantine I have spent a lot of time with elderly people, getting to know individuals, listening to their stories and empathizing with them. I have been working as a PSW in a long-term care home and am also very close to my grandparents and my great grandmother. As such, I have had the unique opportunity throughout this current pandemic of being in a position of face to face interaction with these elderly individuals. The inspiration of this piece comes from conversations and interactions with both my grandparents and residents of the long-term care home, in which they have expressed to me feelings of isolation, worry, hopelessness, and depression. The majority spend their time missing their families and craving human contact and connection which they cannot safely receive within this pandemic. In this piece, I aim to express the feeling of desperation and loneliness which has been conveyed to me. This piece is set in the empty waiting room of the care home where I work, showing the elderly hands reaching out for each other, desperate for a touch or a connection, which they will never be able to obtain. I asked individuals the following four questions and based my work off the resulting conversations, including some distinctive quotes in the final piece. ❞

"Calm Within the Storm" Video, 2020 by Aly Singh

❝ This digital piece titled, Calm Within the Storm, is representative of the love, kindness and ultimately the inter-connectedness created by the social isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the virus is forcing social distancing upon people, it is simultaneously metaphorically connecting these same people through shared deeds of kindness towards one another. This work began with an acrylic painting of the coronavirus on a panel which was then inputed into Photoshop and manipulated through frames of the virus rotating as drawings were added. The virus is hand painted to represent the physical being that it is. The painted figures that appear are bright red which represents both their human form through the colour of blood and also the love they express. These figures are featureless so as not to signify a specific person, in gender, race, or otherwise; instead to represent all of humanity which this effects. The diamond pattern on the figures represents both the preciousness and fragility of human life. The figures are identical because everyone is in this together. The white scarf emerging from the virus to connect everyone is significant of the human connection the virus has sewn. The simplicity and blankness of this scarf signifies the newness of these connections within the ‘virus storm’. In the end, the whiteness represents peace. ❞

At this time, my personal connection to this piece started with the constant of COVID-19 in my house, with two doctor parents working on the front lines. The abstractness of the paintings reflects my personal style of art. In today’s world, the goodness coming from within this pandemic is uplifting and I wanted to express this positivity. This piece can be shown on various screens, including digital billboards in public spaces or phone/computer screens on social media feeds. This piece is significant because since everyone is experiencing this pandemic, so too can everyone relate to it. Ultimately, this piece signifies the silver lining of human connection and the goodness coming out of this otherwise terrible situation. note: my two works opposing in subject matter suggest a shift in attitude throughout the pandemic. Calm Within the Storm was created at the beginning of the pandemic when my outlook on the world was optimistic and hopeful that we would all come out of this together. Over 6 months later when I created Bubblewrapped, I had experienced the stubbornness of society and had been confronted by the impacts this pandemic has had on the older generation. The last six months have shifted my outlook slightly, in that although I still feel a sense of optimism and have seen how this pandemic has brought out the good in people, I realize that there are still alternative hardships and a lot of work to be done. ❞

Alessandra Singh is a third year Drawing and Painting major at OCAD University who works mainly in acrylic and oil paint as well as multimedia pieces. She has also recently begun experimenting with digital art. Growing up in Collingwood, Ontario she is still inspired by the small town atmosphere that she knows and loves. Alessandra enjoys making works loosely inspired off phrases she hears in every day life to create an emotive experience that tells a story. Her ‘Wear Art’ clothing and art business, ROHO, has had success over the last 4 years and is currently undergoing a remodelling and a relaunch in the upcoming months. Additionally, in the near future, a collection of Alessandra’s paintings will be featured in the Foot by Foot Show in the Thornbury Loft Gallery. You can find more of her works on Instagram under @alyisarty.

DAYNA SCHALY

❝ This pandemic shifted my life in a matter of hours, it moved me through multiple bedrooms as I tried to find a place to make home. With a chronic illness, my bedroom is my office, my classroom, my studio, where I sleep, and at times where I eat. I don’t know that in the last 8 months I have settled in a space or if I even will.

There is no safe space so I will build us one, an escape, a place that is clean, a place far away a place where I can breathe, a place where we can sleep a place to rest, to become stronger.

In this work, I am exploring the duality of a space as warm and inviting but also insecure and unstable. The blanket is full of colour and warmth, stitched together with brightly coloured fabrics from places all over. The sky is endless and bright blue, but the walls shift in colour, from warm yellow to flat black. Shadows come out of nowhere and the window frame is dissolving into the air. The bedside table and its coffee cup are unstable and awkwardly placed, with the drawers from under the bed exposing dark empty pockets. The fabrics that make up the quilt are pieces I’ve collected throughout my life. Some are from old childhood outfits, some are from my grandmother's life in Holland. They are stitched together as a map of where I have been. They are storybooks placed together that brought me to where I am. Photoshop was used to move the work to an online sphere. Due to the pandemic, the art we see is mostly in online shows, this work is built to exist in that space. The room painted in this work is not tangible and because of its digital quality neither is the work itself. ❞

Dayna Schaly is an artist studying Drawing and Painting at the Ontario College of Art and Design University. Her main modes of creating are painting and sculpture, with an interest in mixed media exploration. Dayna was born and raised in rural Ontario. Her mother always made art available and limitless and thus, she made art as often as she could. As a child her art was made with sticks drawn in mud, fingers smeared in paint and charcoal rubbed across her face. Not much has changed for her art-making process in her adulthood; it still is experimental, colourful, messy, and playful. The main subject in Dayna’s work is the body’s interaction with the natural world as well as the concept of nature as escape and home. Dayna has shown in multiple shows at OCAD University, and recently had a paired show with the Pontiac Artists Association in Quebec. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @daynaschaly.

BRI VERMEER

❝ This series of 5 watercolour paintings illustrate the spaces I move through and around on a consistent basis. The COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent re-openings with numerous restrictions in the Toronto area severely limited my physical capacity to move beyond my immediate neighbourhood. I could not rely on public transit, or even my own body, to get me further afield safely. I followed public health directives to stay home except for essential outings. The concept of “home” is explored in these works—specifically, what constitutes a home? Is it four walls and a roof? Or can it be expanded to the landscaped corner outside your apartment building, to the coffee shop across the street you frequent daily, to the park two hundred metres away that you visited in order to meet with one or two people safely, to the rooftop sundeck at your apartment building, or the back entrance to the building that you used in order to avoid the throngs of delivery drivers with food or parcels? What exactly creates our homes is significantly less limited and precise than the Work-From-Home crowd would have us believe. These liminal spaces presented in this series are connected by an otherwise invisible thread—an ambiguous, lone figure...the shadow of the idea of socialization...these spaces are rendered in a deep Prussian blue that itself refers back to the omnipresent blue light emitted by our digital screens. The closest many of us get to physically holding each other is by holding the image of our loved ones in spaces where we are alone. Layering transparent yellows, oranges, and reds over the blue framework creates an eerie, melancholic atmosphere within the work. It equalizes the apparent time, as noons blur into twilights into midnights into dawns. In this way, the colours that signal to us the passage of time—changing foliage, shifting sunlight, dappled moonlight, stark incandescent streetlamps—are obliterated and instead anchored by this neverending-neverstarting “COVID time.” ❞

Bri Vermeer is a painter and printmaker working out of a home she has made for herself in an otherwise stark apartment building in Toronto, ON. Bri is completing her seventh and final year at OCAD University. Bri’s relationships with her close extended family and friends form the foundation upon which she creates work. Working through the loss of her immigrant grandparents and father at an early age, Bri seeks to find the threads of her familial narrative. Her focus is on the intersection of memory, grief, sentimental textiles, and finally the distance between her family members through time. Previously working in large scale oil paintings, or in the shared environment of a printmaking shop, she has pivoted to making handheld paintings with watercolours sustainably handmade on Manitoulin Island—a place central to her childhood. Bri’s current practice continues the work of finding threads in time with which to weave her own narrative amongst the ever-shifting world she calls home. You can find more of her works on Instagram under @brivermeer.

YICHENG WU

❝ Dystopia is a description of a community or society that is undesirable or frightening. It translates as a not-good place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. When we live in a world polluted by the pandemic outbreak, we always feel like we live in a dystopian society: infection, pollution, isolation, desperation… "The Vaccine Bus Station" is about my idea of our dystopian living in the pandemic life or dystopian world in the possible future. A virus infects people like being infected by the zombie's attack from a horror movie and video games scene. Consequently, more people become zombies spread-out the world. Many people are always concerned about being victims infected by viruses or zombies without appropriate protection as if they live in a dystopian virus world. The elite doctors and medical scientists successfully invented the virus vaccine and later set up a clinic as a temporary ambulance or vaccine station on the bus. The bus is parking on the arid land that is surrounded by a cluster of infected zombies. Doctors and medical scientists, as humanitarians, the most challenging task for them is to take a risk to arrest zombies out of the bus. They bound zombies' bodies on the bed. By injecting the vaccine, those zombies can transform into ordinary people after a week. Their ultimate aim is to save all zombies turning into ordinary people as one way to end up virus life. ❞

Symbolism

(Orange sky with Red dots) a symbol of the air polluted by the zombie virus, zombie virus can represent Coronavirus and all kinds of viruses. (Zombies) represent careless or mindless people who do not take care of themselves and implement pandemic prevention during the pandemic time. They are infected by the zombie virus and later become zombies. When ordinary people get in touch with the zombie, he/she can also become zombie quickly. (Doctors and medical Scientists) represent elitists who are able to turn a zombie into ordinary people by injecting their invention of a zombie virus vaccine. (Military bus) the bus with tank feature of tracks called Bvs-10 Beowulf, this bus is renowned for zombie-proof bus, which can protect its body from any zombie attack. It symbolizes force and control. Humans must learn how to implement any method of force and control to end up pandemic life.

Yicheng Wu is a current OCAD University 4th year student aiming for a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. He was born on July 22, 1997, in Shanghai, China. He started doodling when he was two years old. His father Youyuan Wu is a Chinese contemporary artist and professional art teacher who taught Yicheng's children drawing and painting for about twelve years. In grade six, Yicheng started to learn formal academic art training in the academic art school for about five years. Yicheng was interested in surrealism when his father provided Yicheng with an art book about Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte's drawings and paintings. The art style in his artworks later influenced and inspired them and planned to be a surrealist. The general themes in Yicheng's series of artworks revolve around his reflection of modern society and fascination with Western and Eastern art. Some inspiration in his art comes from his observations of day-to-day life. Yicheng usually applies acrylics and gouache as main mediums in his works. You can find more of his works on Instagram under @yichengsky.

HEATH WALTON

“Self Love in a Time of Coronavirus” Video animation, 2020 by Heath Walton.

❝ “Self Love in a Time of Coronavirus” is a video reaction to the changes in the world during 2020, specifically the Covid 19 virus pandemic.At the beginning of the year, attempts to assemble my many ideas and interests into a workable art practice were underway. These practices helped to form the content in this work. The current pandemic has then added a new, unescapable filter over the work.This piece represents a new medium for me, the long form video. I have experimented with small gifs and short clips of stop motion like animation before, but a sustained narrative is a new approach. A new medium, for unprecedented times?The pandemic has forced me like many others, to get up and move on a daily basis. The acquisition of a Fitbit watch has helped me keep a visual record of my almost daily walks. After a routine was established, I started to record video clips of my walks, and using the GPS on my phone, even recording in real time my routes using the Fitbit app.This project allows me to combine some of my many interests such as drawing, photography and linocut into a singular expression and response.Art has always been the way for me to react and process the world around me and to try and understand how my past informs that view.Art is also my way of trying to live with a sense of wonder and imagination in an increasingly polarized and hostile world. A way of trying to retain a sense of hope, humour and optimism.Art has become increasingly a form of therapy and self care in these anxiety inducing days.I believe art will be needed to get us through these trying times. ❞

For Heath Walton, everything starts with a single reaction. Most often a single image. Maybe a quote, or a song lyric. This leads to an idea, a sketch. After that sketch it’s time to see what medium might best suit it. He is always looking for ways to incorporate interests in traditional techniques like linocut, pen and ink, or even embroidery or quilting with digital methods. In the digital realm he can recreate items like historic colours or print effects from memories of growing up. Eventually connections between sketches will be revealed. A final idea will form. There will always be a lens of nostalgia that his work is filtered through. Heath has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts from OCAD University and has also studied at Sheridan College. He has been fortunate to have Cathy Daley and Rae Johnson among his instructors at OCADU. Heath grew up in a small town in Ontario, and currently lives and works in Toronto, Ontario. You can find more of his works on Instagram under @hokusai22.

LEE REID

❝ In this series of work I have created drawings of the fears and impending environmental atrocities that are increasing due to the pandemic of Covid-19 in the year 2020. In pieces where sharks are put into question to possibly put at risk for extinction in order to produce remedies for vaccine. In other pieces where humans freely litter thousands upon thousands of dirty disposable masks that contribute to pollution. Environmental dangers seem to be on the rise, and as dangers climb the human race risks not just environmental loss but exit cition. ❞ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤFrom Oct. 13-28th2020ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ Medium: pen 0.05, pen papermate 1, pen MUJI ,0.5 stadeler 0.05, shading markers and 8b pencil.

The Name of the Artist is Liam Robley Adonis Reid takes the name of Lee.B as a person of the Lgbtqi+ Community the artist has signed works with the previous names of Djluxary, Mucwic, Bernobayobaylee and bayobaylee. In the future as their career progressed they were known to write and sign B.baylee on all works and writings along with Lee. B. Their works as a visual artist and writer includes drawing and painting along with writing pieces and manifestos pertaining to visual art , art poetics and art philosophy. Their skills within the subject of visual art pertain to Free handdrawing, stipple , abstract painting, illustration, landscape drawing, landscape painting ,and people studies. With their specialty and talents in freehand drawing, Technical drawing, abstract painting and New forms of visual art drawing and painting (Avantgarde). They have participated in the Whitby Art Gallery twice and their high school cumalitive art show. They began drawing at the age of 13 and have a astounding 3 portfolios, 70 drawing books finished and over 6000 to 7000 complete drawings and a small portion painting. With their art they wish to show the inner fibers of environmental danger and community and environmental connection, Study new forms of visual art Avant garde while creating “avant-works” aswell with visual lauguage through both abstract art and contemporary illustration and surpassing Pablo Picasso with the record for most Created art pieces and paintings in history with over 13,500 paintings and 50,000 works.

BEN CHOI

❝ The overarching progression of COVID-19 has made me think about the nature of touch - while simultaneously making me think about the behavior of how viruses spread from a anthropological perspective. The extremely rapid course of action that COVID has taken resembles a domino-like effect. This is especially the case when we look more generally on how the virus was at one point carried by one singular person which then lead to a global pandemic. As soon as a small populous was tested positive for the virus, the margin of error was so small that any small mistake could have contributed to the creation of a pandemic. Moreover, we all know the general rules of etiquette and behavior regarding how to prevent the spread of an illness - that being avoid physical contact. However people are generally detached from the reality that they too could have the potential to be affected by something that they hear on the news. But it is then that it becomes too late and the dominoes have been knocked over. ❞

Benjamin Choi is a UI/UX Designer and emerging artist based out of Toronto, Ontario. He is currently working on his thesis which aims to develop an environmental scan of the Artist/Designer/Creative network, and is attempting at creating a web-based prototype that serves to replace existing social platforms. His work is often generated through time-based media or via physical deliverables (i.e the material publication or the printed broadsheet). His work is intent on discovering ways we can use art (mainly the publication) as a pedagogical tool. For example, creating infographics, tutorials, and guidelines. While his work may heavily include traditional printmaking mediums, his background comes from using modern digital tools. This painting/installation utilizes micro-computing and conductive paint to create an interactive experience.

POLA GORODKOVA

❝ 'Covid Postcards: Sorry I didn't write to you from...' is a photography-illustration project that encapsulates the emotions and events that PG was going through when visiting the various cities. Although there are only four postcards displayed currently, this is an ongoing project that will depict more places in the future. On the back of each of the postcards is a personalized message explaining why certain elements were added. One element that exists in all of the pictures is protective gear, whether it be gloves or masks. Due to fear of infection, paranoia, or perhaps poor contact tracing, or possibly other reasons, more and more postal workers are taking time off work, affecting and slowing mail delivery. To comment on this Pola took photos of the physical postcards in plastic bags and gloves. Physical contact, and physical means of communication are things of the relative past and people are learning how to adapt to new ways of communicating. Not everyone likes to text or send instant messages, personally PG is one of those people. Creating, decorating and thinking over her own postcards has been a way of learning a different way of communicating. The photographs are relevant, the people, the atmosphere, the details are all commenting on different things that are significant to her personal life. ❞

Pola Gorodkova is a South African-Russian-Canadian integrated media artist, specializing in mixed media photography installations and digital art. A key theme in most of PG's works is capturing a variety of different characters, shining a light on people that are 'regular' and do not necessarily fit the existing stereotypical mold. She strives to continuously connect different people and experiment with new ways of storytelling. You can find more of her work on her site, https://polapola.format.com/ 

JOLENE ELMHIRST

❝ I created this photograph with the question of how this is going to impact the future generation. Children's lives have been so impacted by this pandemic, their childhoods have been changed possibly forever. In such a time of uncertainty I wanted to create something a little more light hearted but still ask the question, how will this affect the children long-term? ❞

"The Bleak Reality of Media Dependency" Black and white photographs showcased in a slideshow video, 2020 Jolene Elmhirst

❝ This video is a slide show of photographs with audio mash up of news clips and sounds relating to the pandemic. As the pandemic gained speed, I soon realized how much the media had gained control over the thoughts and feelings of the world around me. It, didn’t take long for myself to follow suit, watching the news every day, waiting for someone to tell me how many people had lost their lives and how I should proceed in our new infected world. I witnessed people arguing in parks and online bullying. We all became victims to the fear. I created this series as a visual response to what I seen happen. There seems to have been a strong divide about beliefs through the pandemic. Was it a hoax? Was it deliberately planted here? It was the first time our world stood still for a minute and listened. We listened and we responded best we knew how. From start to finish in the slides you follow a man through his daily life. Ideally this video would be played in a small room with the slides being shown over an entire wall. So the viewer feels completely submerged within the world alongside the subject, and the audio would be played in surround to help create the same effect. ❞

Jolene Elmhirst is a Fine Art Photographer completing her Bachelor in Photography at Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto, Canada. Her inspiration comes from things happening in the world around her. Typical small everyday life circumstances to more influential current events can spark new ideas for her projects. Her previous work experience in the mental health sector is a theme throughout her work. As a result, her deep interest in the human psyche appears in many of her photographs. Although Jolene’s body of work is mostly lens-based, she enjoys experimental approaches and often includes painted images in her imagery. This technique works to blur the lines between fiction and reality in her compositions. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @jolene_e_photography

ANTHONY MAGNANI

❝ The medium I like to work with is digital art with an emphasis on installation work. I enjoy grounding my work within the realm of integrated media focusing on video editing, projections and photographic works. The themes I am currently working with are: dissolution, memory, The digital eye, autonomy, post humanism, concealment, interconnection, distillation, mapping. I originally wanted to document the pandemic from a commercial land point of view, and as I was working with photographs depicting this I noticed that there was something more interesting happening in the foreground. The phenomenon of being hyper aware of everything around you, paranoid of any muffled voices or coughs. The idea that we are in control of our own viral signature and how we must conceal this signature as much as possible. A lot of times people are coughing for other reasons than having covid, but the response remains the same - fear. The personal bubble we have given ourselves becomes tense when leaving home and entering into a bigger community. I am interested in exploring how things could be if things were to get worse, and what that would look and sound like. I’ve noticed my creativity in the pandemic started as an exploratory, continuous loop of ideas that I was inspired to make, but ultimately the plague of limitations surrounding an artist in a time of crisis was too strong. I ultimately decided on going to the things I do well, and the things I have experience in doing. I do like to push myself into new and unexplored territory, however I found that it was best for me to follow my true passions that lead me into the artistic field in the first place, rather than having to add to the list of compromises that have already been made in light of this pandemic. Ultimately I think it worked out for the best, as my current work is more provocative and compelling to the eye. Within contemporary art that I have seen throughout the pandemic I have noticed that even though we are all dealing with the similar struggles, we all have unique gripes with what is happening and our perspectives , while thematically similar, are actually all very different. From going into a community gym , to painting a mural at a studio - we have all been impacted in different ways. The light in which we see the pandemic ultimately is informed by our personal views. ❞

The phenomenon of being hyper aware of everything around you, paranoid of any muffled voices or coughs. The idea that we are in control of our own viral signature and how we must conceal this signature as much as possible. A lot of times people are coughing for other reasons than having covid, but the response remains the same - fear. The personal bubble we have given ourselves becomes tense when leaving home and entering into a bigger community. I am interested in exploring how things could be if things were to get worse, and what that would look and sound like. I am an artist residing in Toronto, Ontario. My previous experiences within professional art have been as a portrait photographer, and a poster designer. Currently in my last year of the Integrated Media program at OCADu finishing my BA - on track to graduate with honors in the year 2021. You can find more of my works on Instagram under @play2kay.

ATHENA NEMETH

"The Health of our Body" Thread, Yarn, Antique medical folio, Antique Family Album, Medical Masks, 2020 by Athena Nemeth.

❝ The idea of this piece was to showcase my reaction of dealing with covid while working at the hospital. Using an old medical folio that my dad had kept and an family album that my grandmother gave me I was able to correspond my connectivity to the science of health. It was very tough to work in the environment day in and day out with the stress and I always felt in disarray and overwhelmed. I was working in housekeeping and it was a tough job because I was the first to deal with the germs in the area that I had to clean and I always had a chance of getting sick if I wasn’t too careful. That being said, I wanted to capture the beauty of our bodies; even though I could have been potentially affected by covid and other diseases by working at the hospital I was strong enough to fight past that. By using the beads on each medical diagram I turned our bodies into a piece of art that deserves to be protected. By crocheting my family album with it I weave my family genealogy onto those diagrams which in part is one of the reasons that I’m not sick today. The whole piece shouts my aware connectivity to my body and my thoughts of how strong our bodies actually are. ❞

Athena Nemeth is an artist currently based in Montreal completing her Bachelor of Fine arts at Ontario college of art and design university which she will finish in 2021. She likes to work with degradable and old material. The way she works with it is by making textile artwork on top of these artworks. She gets her inspiration from her Hungarian heritage by sewing and embroidering what she has been doing since she was a child reflecting her connection to her nationality. What she hopes to do is dissect the object and turn it into a whole different complete object. Turning this rejected piece of item people would often disregard into a work of fabric art that wouldn’t be considered that before sewing upon it. The type of artist she aims herself to be is like any type of grandmother that sews and knits. The types of textile arts she creates are embroidery, crochet work, knitting , bead work and sewing with her sewing machine. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @athenaanemeth.

SOAP BLACK

❝ For my project I wanted to centre the conversation around indigenous healing during COVID-19. Beadwork has always been a meditative and healing art practice for indigenous people and that I felt like it was the best medium to express this idea. Beading itself has been very affected by Covid; pre-Covid beading as normally done in beading circles with other indigenous people but I’ve taken to now having to do these meetings over zoom call. When designing the patches I wanted to focus the aesthetic around indigenous medicines, I settled on three final patch designs the smallest of which is a medicine wheel. In nearly all North American native cultures the medicine wheel represents the balance of the world. It is meant to represent the connection between the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional world and how they are all interconnected. This teaching has been very crucial to indigenous communities throughout Covid as the epandemic has an effect on all these aspects of life through their connected nature. The second patch I created is a bundle of sage burning in a Abalone shell. White sage is a very important traditional medicine that deals with the cleansing of oneself throughout all aspects of the medicine wheel. Sweet grass is often used in a similar respect which is why I chose this medicine for my final patch. I included the important symbolism of the circle for the same reason the medicine wheel is a circle. The circle throughout nature represents the cycle and connection throughout all beings, I also added a Covid mask in the centre of the circle as a way to represent how traditional medicine and modern medicine collide with indigenous culture and yet how they are both equally important to our communities health. Indigenous communities have been deeply affected by Covid due to the living conditions on reservations and outsiders bringing the illness into closed communities. Through my project I hope to bring light to struggle of indigenous people throughout Covid as well as the healing that indigenous people have always been so amazing at continuing. ❞

My name is Soap Black I am a two-spirit Mi’kmaq artist from Toronto who works in animation, painting, costuming and beading. With my work I hope to bring attention to indigenous issues in a visually intriguing way as to draw more viewers to these issues. I take inspiration from mentors of mine such as Jay Soule and talented indigenous beaders such as Heather Stewart. As an artist I prefer to keep my work outside of traditional artistic environments such as Galleries or exhibitions and instead seek to make my work as accessible as possible online. I find my work has the strongest effect on people when it is brought directly to these communities via personal interaction, art has always been a communal aspect of indigenous communities something to be shared, done in a group, spoken about and gifted and as a way to decolonize my practice that is how I share my own work.

PARASTOO MAHMOUDI

❝ This project is suggesting an urgency amongst our dire situation, threatening humanity's health. We seem to forget or not care about the effects of our problem solving on the environment around us. Prioritizing our well-being over the ecosystem. I am working in the warehouse, receiving shipments of merchandise, hundreds of boxes every day. The amount of plastic, styrofoam and cardboards we dispose of every day is mindblowing. During the 2020 quarantine and lockdown, there was lots of great news about environmental improvement. For instance, in Italy, “Within days of the lockdown, Venetians began sharing photos that showed fish visible in the lagoon, which usually has boats churning up sediment from the water bed.” (1) Unfortunately, this improvement didn't last long since the lockdown finished. The capital companies and individuals purchased thousands of disposable masks to provide their employees with safety. Referring to the waste-free ocean's online article, it takes 450 years for a disposable mask to go out of the system. If I start from my community, if I want my project to be more effective, I have to start from my own community. I used disposable and recycled material that I have to use almost every day; a clear plastic bag, disposable blue mask, and painters’ green tape. I used these things to suggest retrieving reusable materials for my audience. The most interesting experience in this project is its process. I found the process very unique and unpredictable. ❞

Parastoo Mahmoudi is a Canadian-Iranian artist who lives in Toronto. She started practicing her primary drawing skills in 1996. She advanced her skills under world-renowned Artists such as Manouchehr Motabar, Mohammad Hossein Maher, and Maryam Mahin over the next ten years. Under their guidance, she studied the human body's anatomy and subsequently portraits in great detail by drawing and sculpting life models and experimenting with different media and styles. Parastoo joined the Drawing and Painting program at OCAD University in September of 2018. She has exhibited multiple painting collections across the world, in Tehran, Dubai, and Toronto. The most recent exhibition she had was the Feminist Festival and Canadian Woman foundation in Toronto, 2019. You can find more of her work on the following site http://www.parastooart.com/

EDEN RAFUSE

❝ Had one asked themselves if they would see Younge and Dundas, or Highway 401 or any other typically busy street empty, hardly a car in sight even a year ago, the answer would have been no. There was a time as well not long ago, when many thought wearing a mask to be a silly, even a paranoid action to take. Many populations have been affected by this pandemic but while there are many common experiences there are a variety of individual impacts as well. One facet of this is accessibility and mobility. It didn’t make sense in the past for many city dwellers to own cars, there was nowhere to park them, and everything was accessible by TTC. Now thinking twice before opting for public transit many explored walking or biking to navigate their outings during the spring and summer months, but what now? As the pandemic persists, we find ourselves incorporating more of Covid culture into our lives, fabric masks to match your outfits, home renovations for a space you didn’t have to look at as much before, and yes too personal transportation. Since the pandemic the sales of cars, especially used ones has skyrocketed. As people adjust to this new way of life it becomes more and more apparent the benefits having access to a car. Of course, this luxury isn’t accessible to all, in many cases the same barriers that prevented people form buying cars in the past still exist. So, people are forced to rely on others in their social circles, or to brave the public transportation routes. The mask has become a clear symbol of the pandemic, but so too has the car proven itself a symbol of life during a pandemic. Both masks and cars entitle you to access spaces otherwise restricted by pandemic parameters. ❞

Eden Rafuse is an interdisciplinary artist based in Mississauga and Toronto, who often creates narratives connecting natural cycles to the human subconscious to work through philosophical aspects of human experience. Along with their paintings and animations, Rafuse has created public interventions, such as paper cutouts of people pasted on walls of abandoned buildings around Toronto, to bring attention to the issues of homelessness in the GTA. Along with these public interventions, Rafuse has worked alongside Kaleidoscope arts, a studio based in Streetsville, leading and assisting workshops as well as premiering in their 2017 summer art show. Rafuse has stated a desire to establish narratives within their projects, of false representations of reality, as well as expanding into more time-based media productions. Issues Rafuse often addresses relates to their identity as a queer, female read, witch artist struggling to find a place within a constantly inaccessible environment. You can find more of their work on Instagram under @ear.earth.art.

ISAAC MOSNA

❝ Masks are wonderful. They keep us and the people around us safe. But despite all the good they do, single-use masks have created a lot of extra waste. We see them lining the streets, filling landfills, and overflowing in garbage bins. I’ve since switched to reusable masks to do my part in reducing PPE waste, but many months into the pandemic, I’ve held on to the used single-use masks which I bought or were given to me (it just didn’t feel right tossing them out). After reflecting on the sheer amount of used masks I accumulated, I knew I had to do something productive with them. This project aims to transform my single-use masks into fashionable, durable, water-resistant products. In this case, a mid-size tote bag. After drawing out a layout plan on my iPad, I hot glued the masks together at their seams to create the main portion of the bag, layering the key areas to create structural integrity. After creating two sheets of mask material, I joined them together at the sides, and sealed the bottom. You may be thinking that this bag is just an art piece and is not made to be used… but you’d be wrong. These masks are constructed with multiple layers, in turn making the bag strong enough to carry books, tablets/small laptops, groceries, and light everyday carry. Plus, the material used is slightly water resistant - protecting your items against light rain or splashes. For the carry/shoulder straps, I wanted to utilize the ear loops in a clever way for this component. So I snipped each string from the masks, and joined bundles of the strings together with glue. I covered the straps in more glue to create a hardened build. Once attached to the bag, the straps are tough, with a slight elasticity. The final end result is a surprisingly functional and unique fashion item that ‘upcycles’ single use masks into a reusable and useful product. ❞

Isaac Mosna is an advertising student based in Toronto, completing his final courses at OCAD U. Outside of being a student, Isaac is a content creator, artist, designer, video producer, and photographer. He runs his own media business producing content for tech focused companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, TELUS, and others. He has been featured on the TorontoGuardian, DailyHive, and other sites for his work. Isaac is open to experimenting in new mediums and is always down to try new things in his endeavours. He strives to push the boundaries in his field, while also encouraging his colleagues to experiment and see things differently. With ‘Dream’ and ‘Create’ tattooed on his wrists, it appears that Isaac has cemented what he intends to do throughout his time on this planet.

AMANDA LAM

❝ Four Seasons, is a series of sculptural multimedia pieces that portrays how facemasks have become the trend and icon of COVID-19 and how the pandemic has heavily affected our perceptions on time. Drawing from my own experiences of isolation and unease derived from being cooped up due to the ongoing pandemic; coupling that with my affection for fancy accessories was where my idea first took root. Since we fled for the safety of our own confines, life has become routine and methodical; work, remote schooling, cooking, rinse and repeat. As time went by, I realized how fast time flies as I was just living my life day by day, without noticing any changes. From the first snow of 2020 till the last leaves of Fall, we have endured this pandemic for almost a year and yet facemask is still a necessity. However there is one change that I noticed. The value of facemasks has risen due to the overwhelming demands; especially the designer branded face masks which are ridiculously priced. This led me to the idea of using leftover materials (fabric scraps, bottle caps etc) from home to create your own designer masks that mix both practicality with fashion chique concepts. I came up with a series of ideas and ended with a conclusion: four different designs that were influenced by the change of our four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. To portray this theme, I utilized materials that invoked the feelings that one gets from each season. ❞

(Credits) Model by Louie Lam. Make-up, photography and overall design by Amanda Lam.

Amanda Lam is an Malaysian-Canadian artist currently based in Toronto, completing her Bachelor of Fine arts at Ontario College of Art and Design University. Even though she majors in 3D animation, she is also a multimedia artist that works with the interpretation of tech through art. She often utilizes themes about the Malayan culture and social issues, integrating it into her work through artistic impressionism. Her main Raison d’etre for art revolves around her attempts to convey the idea of how people are able to connect with others and understand themselves while facing crises pertaining to self identity . Her recent work Dancing in the Dawn (animated short) & Where is WenJack(mix media sculpture) were showcased in numerous group shows such as FilmFest 2019 and Nuit Blanche 2018 etc.

PAULINA PADILLA

❝ During the pandemic we are living now, there is a collective longing for physical interaction, where the expressions of ourselves and our interactions are not limited to digital environments and do not exclude the sense of touch. Experiencing our body through a screen, can magnify the distraction and entrainment lens through which we encounter the world. The silent qualities of painting, I believe can draw us closer to ourselves and the introspective silences we long for. As a response to Covid-19, I reached out to my contacts in social media and received around twenty digital images which the subjects wished to turn into an oil painting. Most, if not all of these mediated images, lived on Instagram before touching the porous boundary of pictorial languages. (Note) The audios, if these paintings were mounted in a physical space would ideally be all on at the same time, next to the paintings installed in the same large wall. This way, the anxious feeling of the pandemic would be more accurately represented and we would have to focus on a specific voice to hear their stories. ❞

Paulina Padilla is a Mexican cross-disciplinary artist and educator with Arab blood and American nationality, who is based in Toronto. Interpreting the social and political structures in which she is inscribed leads her to problematize the power dynamics she encounters. It is important for her that cultural heritages strive to find global common grounds in the present, since struggle and ecstasy belong to all of us at all times, for we are one. Her work has been exhibited collectively in Mexico, Vancouver and Toronto. She has experience working in the education department of a contemporary museum in Querétaro (MACQ), where she assisted Tanya Shultz (Pip n Pop) for the installation Together We Light Up the Sky (2018). Although she has mainly been exposed to realism working alongside Mexican oil painters, she has been influenced by teachers such as Landon Mackenzie and Scott Everingham. She went to school both at Emily Carr U and OCADU. You can find more of her work on Instagram under @color.citronella.

ALICIA ROUT

"Touch me", video art, 2020 by Alicia Rout.

❝ I wanted to create a short film that felt engrossing, fun and a little bit strange. I remember one of my close friends at OCAD University who would always wear masks to school before the pandemic. I thought that was different but of course I still supported her, it just wasn’t normal to me… yet. I knew I wanted to focus this project around masks because for the first time in my life wearing masks was becoming normalized. Every time I would leave my house to venture in Toronto I would see people wearing all different types of crazy masks. For this video I purchased around 10 masks that personally appealed to me. I then found the most uncanny mask of all, the yellow bucket hat mask. I wouldn’t consider this hat a ‘proper’ mask but I knew I needed to incorporate it into my video. To me the bucket hat represents the new style that is forming as a result of the pandemic. My main inspiration for this project was the song I chose to use, Satisfaction (remix version). I wanted to create a video that represented not being able to go out to the clubs or the bars during this time in my life when that is how most people my age socialize. This song to me feels very techno and only talks about pushing and touching. I thought it would be ironic to choose this song for a video about Covid 19 since we are forbidden to embrace others and are no longer allowed to party. It’s hard during my 20’s in Toronto not being able to go out and dance with my friends so I thought I would create a video about a futuristic type of partying. ❞

Alicia Rout is a film artist from Toronto, Ontario. She mainly focuses her art around stop motion, documentary, and 2D animated film, although she enjoys sketching, painting, and sculpting as well. Alicia’s projects are mainly very colourful and lighthearted although she will dig deep into social justice issues as well. She hopes to inspire people to use colourful and playful mediums while creating art and to look into political subjects on a deeper level. Alicia hopes to make children's films in the future as she is very imaginative and playful herself. She has worked as a camp counsellor for three years and then as the Social Media Manager at the same camp Pine Crest. She is currently attending the Ontario College of Arts and Design University for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Integrated Media. One of her most significant projects Oh Canada, about Canadain Residential schools, was recognized by the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. They now show Alicia’s video as a part of their online class about Indigenous peoples of Canada. You can find more of her work on Instragam under @aliciasartblog.

JILLIAN HERNANDEZ

❝ During quarantine back in March 2020, I would go on frequent walks with my family. On those walks I’d often see so many pieces of litter on the ground. This wasn’t new, because there’s litter everywhere, but it was the fact that the litter I would often see on these walks was of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). Upon seeing these, I began to wonder and question about how much PPE I’d use myself, then of my family, then of my friends, then as humans as whole. I began to research about the environmental impact of COVID-19 and saw that disposable PPE really affected climate change. I then began to perform weekly waste audits in my home of PPE. I found that the highest number of things my family and I disposed of was non-medical masks, disinfectant wipes, latex gloves, and plastic bags. This was no shock, but the amount used in a week added up to an enormous amount at the end of the month. I captured in this series only one week in the month of October. This week’s waste audit was less than the ones I’ve done before since we’ve been limiting our outings and starting to use more reusable options. But I’d like the viewers to imagine what it’d look if it was double the amount, because that is how much my family and I would use weekly back in previous weeks. Through this series, I want the audience to look at the diptych photographs and evaluate how much disposable PPE they use and to think of how they can cut down their consumption of disposable PPE. ❞

Jillian Hernandez is a Filipino Toronto based photographer and student at OCAD University. Since 2014 she has been using 35mm film cameras as the main method to capture her work, and now since 2017 she uses both film and digital cameras. Her main focus of work is on self-portraits, portraits of others, scenic and documentary photography. She is currently working on an ongoing mixed-media series about reclaiming her Filipino heritage. You can find more of her works on Instagram under @jillianh.jpg.