Private Lives
2 - 4 p.m.
2 - 4 p.m.
Artwork exploring the personal, with reflections and introspection that open a door to home life in its many different forms.
Featuring work from students in the School of Continuing Studies at OCAD U.
Internal Life of Skippy, hand hooked rug, acrylic and wool on burlap, 16” x 32”, 2020
Daniel, hand hooked rug, acrylic and wool on burlap, 12” x 20”, 2020
Friday Night
Home Alone
Happy Birthday
A private space can be a place of loneliness or one of solace. This collection of art explores the home and domestic life in the big city from the perspectives of a grandmother, pets, and children.
Bake, sketch, eat, repeat, ink and watercolour
Everyone needs a routine.
Ganesha with a Lotus
I can overcome, acrylic on canvas, 20” x 16”
This piece is about all the things that accumulated and weighed on us this past year at home. I needed to remind myself – I can overcome; we can overcome.
Hello to unspoken secrets, mixed media on canvas, 90cm x 66cm (a series of 9 artworks, each 30cm x 22cm), 2021
As Sadegh Hedayat says, “In life, there are certain sores that, like a canker, gnaw at the soul in solitude and diminish it.” The story of my private life begins when I remove the bandages stuck on my wounds.
Children’s Book 1, digital artwork, 2020
I AM NOT YOU ARE
My 2013 poetry collection, Professional Poetry, featured poems intended to speak to how private citizens/individuals in the US are viewed through the lens of their working identity (their “day” jobs). As a poet and artist, I found myself struggling to localize my place in this structure. I examined the commodification of poetry and the absurdity of “marketing” in this space. This poem was originally not included in the collection, but it seemed a fitting piece to illustrate the metaphorical tug between “contributing” (economic) member of society (consumer) and a waning citizen (unidentifiable in a petri of metrics and forced identity).
Porcelain Mirror, screen-printed ink on glass
Combining my recent thoughts about personal reflection and using my identity as a third culture kid, I wanted to use two clichéd elements to represent my western and eastern culture. The decorative art of the frames and the exported image of Chinese porcelain serves as an exploration of the assemblage of narratives that interplay with my physical and mental landscapes.
Moon, wood, cast concrete and twine, 21” x 17” x variable length
The sculptural installation draws attention to the predominant theme of balance to show many independent objects can work together to produce a functioning whole; one that could not exist if even one segment was missing. This method of precariousness balance allows for objects that appear sturdy from materialistic description to become delicate while commenting further on form and function.
Pam's Purse
One of the most private places in my home was actually my wife’s purse. She let me open it up and remove all of the items to see the wide array of things these little purses can hold.
Candid moment during a heated debate at a party
David #3, watercolour, gouache, 11” x 15”
Good thing I had roommates when the lockdown started.
Couch Potato
The year I became an extension of my couch.
March 365th
Starring: Marcia Díaz and Camilo Calderón
This situation got us into an indefinite time loop. Also, it helped us learn again how to enjoy every little moment of our days.
A Day in My Life
Credits: Yushan Wu - Director, Photographer, and Performer; Xiaowen Wang - Camera Assistant
A video display of a day in my private life as a young woman during the menstrual cycle. It is personal, yet it provokes criticism and reflections on the social portrayals of women in general.
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