Painted for a Canada 150 group show (featured at the Kitchener Public Library (KPL) in July, 2017), this piece is a response to the concept of celebrating your own personal relationship to Canada. As an immigrant, I am very aware of the privilege that we all share to call Canada home, and yet there is a long history of social and environmental injustice that continues to this day. In coming up with the concept for the work I wanted to encourage viewers, in the context of celebrating, to take a moment to reflect on the fact that not everyone can in good faith celebrate the day.

As a Canadian, I believe that we still have a lot of work to do as a society to ensure we achieve the vision of the inclusive, just, and forward-thinking home that we all hold in our hearts – a nation that honours people of all traditions and respects their unique needs and paths towards a better tomorrow.

“The Great White North”
Laser-etched acrylic on wood panel
2017
24x24in

Larger image.

This painting is in the private collection of Emily Slofstra.