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COLOURblind goes International
If We All Wore a Mask. Author: Joan ButterfieldIf we all wore a mask we would be freed from the limitations imposed by race, gender and age. If we all wore a mask we would speak a global language that knows no nation, favors or fears no race and acknowledges no class. If we all wore a mask we could then speak to our human needs and conditions, heal and transform. If we all wore a mask it would allow us to transcend our ordinary lives, provide hope and the opportunity to dream of a world very different from what it is today. Imagine the possibilities. "The future for COLOURblind is so bright it hurts my eyes on July 24th through Aug 12 2007 as we launch a new exhibition called COLOURblind International, at “The Blue Dot Gallery," says Joan Butterfield, the Art Director for the Association of African Canadian Artists and Curator of their critically-acclaimed COLOURblind Art Exhibitions. Joan refers to Mask, the mesmerizing exhibit at Toronto's Blue Dot Gallery. In the March edition International Art Treasures reviewed the brilliant COLOURBlind exhibit. Our visit took place in January and even back then COLOURblind! stood out as one of the best exhibitions this magazine covered. IATWM sensed it would be among the best art events in Toronto for 2007. Mask launching COLOURblind! International is even better that its predecessor. Mask is meant to be "Magical, Mystical, Mysterious, Captivating, Enchanting." The exhibit features many of the artists that participated in COLOURblind! Artists include Izzy Ohiro, Sonia Farquharson, Ken Daley, Asha (Aditi) Ruparelia, and Philemon Campbell. MaskKen Daley
Ken was born and raised in Cambridge, Ontario. His parents immigrated to Canada from the Caribbean Island of Dominica. Ken developed a love for the arts- painting, dance, and music from an early age. His influences come from his African-Caribbean background, as well as traveling to Kenya and the Caribbean. He attended The Art Center of Central Technical School for three years and graduated with a diploma from the specialized art program. Ken primarily works in oils and acrylics on canvas and wood. In his recent abstract works, Ken has been combining wood, nails, and ceramic tile and acrylic paint to create dynamic mixed media pieces with depth and texture. Ken said, "I am a part of the Mask exhibition because this is history in the making. I want to be part of this historical moment where African-Canadian artists are being showcased and brought to the attention of the Canadian and International art world. African-Canadian artists have not been given the recognition we deserve by the Canadian art scene. I believe this show will accomplish that." Asha (Aditi) Ruparelia
"Each of my paintings begins with a veiled amorphous concept about a personal relationship with human life, despite the differences in perception, share one commonality, the humanity, or an acquisition about a mystic relationship or mythological character interpreted as my expression of ‘Mask’." She adds, "I was born in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and bought up in Jinja (Uganda) at the source of river Nile, East Africa, educated in England to achieve a Masters Degree in Textile & Knitwear Design and Technology. I am a Textile specialist, an educator and a facilitator in all aspects including Design, Technology and Art/Crafts. I have been fortunate to have worked in Textile and affiliated Industries in Canada. The artist talked about her artwork, describing it as "sculptured-textured painting’ on canvas, which is meant to emphasize textures and natural stone effects expertly applied to result in stunning artwork by using layers of recycled material and mixed media. Recycled materials and work have a history. They can be broken down, torn, cut, reworked and layered, until they are reassembled to create something more meaningful. Fragments and layers mark the passing of time, the rituals of making (gathering materials, creating, manipulating, and recycling) acting as a part of the narrative of the work and its creative artistic transformation. More recently, I have been investigating the combination of these directly with drawing, painting, decoupage, appliqué, collage, and surface design embellishment explorations. I am continuing to push the boundaries between tradition and innovation, and to extend further my artistic creative ability to create ‘sculptured-textured paintings’. I have chosen these media to fully explore the ideas not only in design, color, structure and texture, but also in storytelling. I would like to express who I am, what I feel and how I see the world. I want to share with the viewer the beauty and the wonder I see in my art. I feel this creative journey I have taken has allowed me to truly know myself. My work seems to be a continued process of my own discovery. Each and every day I am fortunate enough to be able to create and involve myself in something creative, that I not only love but have a passion for." Philemon Campbell
"As an artist I truly believe that there is always a continuous accomplishment to be achieved. Being self-taught I always like to have a positive vision as I move along with my God given talent. There will be obstacles along the way but is for me to overcome them and progress. If I have to change course at any given time I will recognize and respond to the signals," says Philemon Campbell. Growing up in the Blue Mountains on the island of Jamaica, Philemon Campbell was awestruck by the lush, misty landscape and rugged peaks around him and was passionate about nature. Philemon began to work as an accountant but found himself constantly drawn to the arts - sketching, string art, carving, dance and folklore. After years of admiring the work of the Trafalgar artists, a group of painters who hung their work on the fence at Trafalgar Road in Kingston, Philemon bought a piece of canvas and attempted his first painting in 1983. With no formal training, this self-taught artist immediately attracted the attention of local art lovers as well as visitors to his native Jamaica. Since he immigrated to Canada in 1988 his landscapes, seascapes and images of Jamaican life and culture have been exhibited in galleries across Ontario. His work has been featured by institutions including the Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation Canada, the Toronto Transit Commission and Arts & Culture Jamaica and his paintings have been included in the “Colourblind” exhibition staged by the Association of African Canadian Artists as well as in “Nuit Blanche”, the first all-night art exhibition in Toronto. He has also exhibited his work in Michigan and New York, USA. Philemon’s paintings are to be found in collections in the Caribbean, Europe and North America. Izzy Ohiro
He adds, "The ‘witness’ depicts the supernatural presence of our creator in our midst. We may gossip and make derogatory remarks about others in isolation but in quickly we are in awe as those words are exposed by the omnipresent observer. COLOURBlind!Celebrating it's 12th anniversary COLOURblind provides an exhibit for contemporary African Canadian artists from the Greater Toronto and surrounding areas. This is artistic expression at its finest! Joan Butterfield is the energetic organizer behind COLOURblind and a participating artist. Joan is delighted with the response, "For me COLOURblind and the success of it is truly a dream come true; having successfully worked the USA market for the past 20 years I so desired to use the knowledge acquired to assist and expose my fellow Canadian Artists." Joan adds, "It is my belief that a work of art is not complete until it has been presented, admired and acquired – my mission is to provide the opportunities for this to happen. Sonia Farquharson
Freedom Trail in Sonia's words, "In this painting I wanted to focus on the History of the escape from slavery in the 1800’s and the person that made a powerful impact on the slaves and their freedom: Harriet Tubman. "I wanted to show the before and after by showing the trail. Along the bottom of the 3 paintings, the journey to Freedom on the right panel, where the silhouettes appear to be happy and joyous; celebrating freedom. “The slaves, through Harriet, found freedom.” Born in England, raised in Toronto, Sonia started drawing and painting from the age of 10 years old. She was fascinated with drawing faces and capturing facial expressions. In junior high school she participated in various school projects such as murals and various art contests. When she first started High School her artwork started to flourish in her art class. She sold her first painting to her retired English teacher in 1983 and then graduated with the art award for grade 12 and 13. After graduating she attended the Ontario College for the Arts part-time, and received a certificate for Editorial Illustration. She then went back to Humber College to get a degree in Business. Her first group exhibition was in 1999 with the group, 2000 Beyond/The Legend – Music to Visual Art Exhibition and a tour across Canada. A year later she was asked to participate in the 1st Annual Black History Month Art Exhibition for the Canadian Human Rights Commission and has continued, for the past 9 years, and still continues to paint black historical figures in society – past and present, as well as multicultural type themes emphasizing light and dark contrasts. Her favorite mediums to work with are Colored Pencils, Conte, Chalk Pastels and Acrylic Izzy Ohiro
Izzy explains, "my work focuses on inner beauty, festivity and celebration of the human race. We live today in a world with so much stress and endless struggle. I aim to bring light, peace, hope and joy to every room my work is displayed. "I work primarily in oil because of its luster and sensual qualities, creating layers of simple colors, shapes, and movements, which eventually transforms and develops into a complex but exciting visual experience "Lately I introduced the use of vibrant colors to create a spicy melange of dazzling imagery. This stage of my artistic evolution, a contrast to the past, dissuades me from putting my art into a specific category or rules box. There is always a persistent need to move to another direction like in the case of my latest work Soulful Delight which was born with the scheme of collage in mind." CaribanaCOLOURblind International will be the visual art component of Caribana, the unparalleled international Toronto festival celebrating the Caribbean culture.
Mask: COLOURblind International
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