Discussion with Sanctuaries Curators and Artists
September 29, 2021
3:00 - 4:30 pm CT
Presented with The University of Winnipeg Critical Race Network.
Event recording
Join Patterns Collective for a conversation with artists Akum Maduka, Anique Jordan, Rajni Perera and Odudu Umoessien about the virtual exhibition Sanctuaries. The talk will include discussion with the artists about their work in the show, themes of the virtual space and explore the pedagogy of the Patterns Collective curatorial practice. ASL provided.
About the Speakers
Artists
Anique Jordanis an award-winning artist, writer and curator who has presented her work across Canada and internationally. Working for over a decade at the crossroads of community economic development and art, Jordan’s practice stems from and returns to the communities that inform it. Jordan’s photographs, sculptures and performances play with the foundations of traditional Trinidadian carnival and the theory of hauntology, challenging historical narratives and creating what she calls impossible images. This work creates space to reinterpret the archives offering a new and speculative vision of the future.
Akum Maduka is a Winnipeg based emerging artist with Nigerian roots. Originally from an architectural background, her work investigates the role of societal constructs and their influence on human performance within space and how such notions have created skewed ideals of what a normative life should be. Her intimate drawings entwine these narratives with ongoing lived experiences, as she examines the pliancy and complexity of gender roles, sexuality, desire, and ethnicity in modern society.
Rajni Perera was born in Sri Lanka in 1985 and lives and works in Toronto. She explores issues of hybridity, futurity, ancestorship, immigration identity/cultures, monsters and dream worlds. All of these themes marry in a newly objectified realm of mythical symbioses. In her work she seeks to open and reveal the dynamism of the icons and objects she creates, both scripturally existent, self-invented and externally defined. She creates a subversive aesthetic that counteracts antiquated, oppressive discourse, and acts as a restorative force through which people can move outdated, repressive modes of being towards reclaiming their power. Rajni’s work has shown across Canada and internationally, including at MOCA Toronto, Mackenzie Art Gallery, and Centre PHI to name a few.
Odudu Umoessien is a Nigerian born storyteller and multi-disciplinary artist exploring the relationship between human perception and the natural world which he translates into expressions of Light and Space through architecture. His incorporation of film has allowed him to introduce the dimension of Time into his work, making his stories and questions much more powerful and immersive. Odudu has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Manitoba and has received several awards for his work, including the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada’s International Prize Scholarship. He has presented his work locally at the Winnipeg Design Festival and now lives and works as an Architectural Designer in Toronto.
Patterns Collective
Shaneela Boodoo is a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a BFA (Honours) in Design. She is a second-generation immigrant, born and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and identifies as Indo-Caribbean. As an emerging artist, designer, and curator, Boodoo explores themes such as colonialism, displacement, and womanhood. Boodoo has also worked to establish and brand many BIPOC collectives in the city, such as RIND, Patterns Collective and Chroma Collective. Her curated exhibitions include Adornment and Analogous for the School of Art Gallery, which centered the experiences of BIPOC in institutional spaces.
Mahlet Cuff is an emerging interdisciplinary artist who produces their work through digital, and film still photography as well as audio recordings. They explore subjects of healing, memory, collective care and existence to question relationships between kin and the relationship they have with themselves. She is also a community organizer and founder of the group Justice 4 Black Lives Winnipeg where she advocates for abolition and safety of all Black people. She has curatorial experience with being involved with Patterns Collective and co-curating work for Window Winnipeg for the exhibition called Joy is more than just a feeling. Their work has been shown locally and nationally as well.
Chukwudubem Ukaigwe is a Nigerian born song, dispersed by a transient Atlantic breeze, currently passing through Canada. He consciously uses a variety of mediums to relay a plurality of ideas at any given time. He views his art practice as a conversation, or a portal into one, and in some instances, as an interpretation of this ongoing exchange. Chukwudubem operates as an interdisciplinary artist, curator, writer and cultural worker. Ukaigwe is a founding member of Patterns Collective.