The Department of Fine Arts and UWAG (University of Waterloo Art Gallery) present the first of two thesis exhibitions by Master of Fine Arts (MFA) candidates from the graduate program in Fine Arts at the University of Waterloo. MFA Thesis gives the campus and community-at-large an opportunity to see the end result of two years of intensive research and studio production by emerging visual artists.
While MFA thesis exhibitions will be installed on site, the gallery remains closed in response to the ongoing pandemic and current lockdown.
Both exhibitions “open" on the UWAG website April 15 with updated exhibition documentation to be posted on April 19.
Racquel
Rowe
The
Chicken
Is
Just
Dead
First
The Chicken Is Just Dead First is a euphemism borrowed from a series of short stories by Zalika Read Benton called Frying Plantain. The collection details the life of a first generation Canadian of Jamaican heritage. It sums up the differences between island life and living in Canada. Exploring the notion of compulsory visibility and subverting dominant ideologies, the exhibition embodies and embraces the differences and similarities between the various black experiences across the diaspora. Engaging in critical conversations around race to furthers ones’ own ability to break away from colonial representations.
Racquel Rowe is a performance artist who explores the way history has shaped modern day depictions of Black people, culture and thus how these things affect her lived experience. Rowe is based in Waterloo, Ontario but hails from the island of Barbados where most of the inspiration is drawn for her current body of work
Karice
Mitchell
1b,
black
legs,
52”
1b,
black
legs,
52”
is
an
effort
to
reconcile
with
history.
Through
the
re-contextualization
of
black
pornographic
images
primarily
using
digital-based
processes,
this
exhibition
serves
as
a
re-imagining
of
what
black
women’s
futures
could
be.
By
creating
images
that
are
hyper-visible
in
presentation
yet
ambiguous
in
their
representation,
these
works
seek
to
foster
images
of
the
black
female
body
that
demand
to
be
seen
and
understood
removed
from
the
historical
construction
of
blackness
that
has
been
upheld
and
perpetuated
through
white
supremacy.
Giving
the
black
female
body
new
meaning
we
can
begin
to
foster
new
possibilities
for
it
to
be
understood
differently
and
to
exist
in
its
multiplicity.
This
show
cultivates
space
for
black
women
and
their
sexuality
to
be
unapologetically
represented
while
also
allowing
ourselves
the
grace
to
acknowledge
the
historical
legacy
of
racism
in
an
effort
to
subvert
it,
ultimately,
striving
towards
reclaiming
our
agency.
Karice
Mitchell
is
a
photo-based
installation
artist
whose
practice
uses
found
imagery
and
digital
manipulation
to
engage
with
issues
relating
to
the
representation
of
the
black
female
body
in
pornography
and
popular
culture.
Her
work
seeks
to
re-contextualize
pre-existing
images
to
reimagine
the
possibilities
for
black
womanhood
and
sexuality
detached
from
the
white
gaze
and
patriarchy.
Making Sweet Bread with Gran (video still), Racquel Rowe, 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
Untitled Diptych, Karice Mitchell, 2020. Photo: Scott Lee.