About the piece

warm metamorphosis of snow

I visually interpreted P. K. Page’s poem “Stories of Snow” through acrylic painting. I selected three of the poem’s images to represent in contrasting lines and colours intended to evoke the visual effect of frost.

Of these images, the “leaves [. . .] large as hands” (line 8) and the “imaginary snow-storm [that] sometimes falls / among the lilies” (lines 11-12) are situated in a tropical landscape from which the speaker tells “stories” (line 45) about snow. The “three feathers” (line 36) severed from a hunted swan, however, are situated in a snowy story. My painting’s warm yellow and cool blues relate to the line “warm metamorphosis of snow” (line 41).

The associative relationship between the articulated metamorphosis and the implied metaphor embody the argument this poem presents about how meaning is made in storytelling.

Similar sounds draw a paradigmatic relationship between these words, which both carry connotations of change. Snow cannot exist in warmth, but the transformative process of the metaphor allows this contradiction to stand and constitute new meaning.

Defamiliarization, or making the familiar strange through literary technique, is a signature strategy of effective writing. Page’s narrator demonstrates in “Stories of Snow” that the inversion of this strategy can also be uniquely effective, which is to say, making the strange familiar.

The raconteurs “unlock / the colour with its complement” (lines 48-49) in that they use imaginative details of an unfamiliar world to create new meaning within their familiar world.

My painting aims to visualize the moment the complementary colours, or the familiar tropical world and the unfamiliar winter world, meet in literature through the process of metaphor.

Works cited: Page, P. K. “Stories of Snow.” A New Anthology of Canadian Literature in English, edited by Donna Bennett and Russell Brown, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 503-504.

About the Piece

No Barriers

This piece is a mostly black-and-white digital illustration created using multiple digital mediums. The idea began with a drawing of a statue that I felt represented harmony, justice, and inclusivity. From there, I built the rest of the piece by finding a background that complemented the concept and adding additional details to strengthen the theme. I also included a quote that connects with the conference theme of breaking barriers and fostering inclusivity.

This piece is not for sale and is intended for exhibition only.

About the artist

Hi! My name is Chloe (she/her). I’m 18 years old and currently majoring in Journalism at St. Thomas University. I’m originally from a small town in Newfoundland called Springdale, where I grew up with my big family.

In my free time I enjoy going for walks, reading, writing, listening to music, playing The Sims, spending time with friends, and of course drawing. I started drawing more seriously in high school, although art has always been in my blood. I mostly create digital illustrations and really enjoy cartoon-style artwork.

During high school I was fortunate to receive several awards for my art, work on murals, and even start an art club at my school. Art means the world to me, and I’m grateful for every opportunity I get to create and share it with others.

chloeaburton@outlook.com

Manufactured Narratives

“Manufactured Narratives” examines how individuals are filtered, distorted, and often simplified through the lens of mass media. I focused on the gap between who people are and who they become, once their identities are shaped by stereotypes, headlines, and visual representations. My work explores the tension between lived experiences and the narratives heavily imposed upon communities by external forces.

Through the use of pencil drawing and visual language by borrowing techniques from comic panels — bold outlines, exaggerated expressions, dialogue, and thought bubbles— I highlight how media representation functions like a scripted narrative.

Each drawing plays with the tension between realism and caricature, inviting viewers to notice where authenticity ends and fabrication begins. The pencil medium allows for a shift of the intensity behind the scenes, which is exaggerated by the capitalized letters and the punctuation marks.

About the artist

Antanique Clarke is an artist who lives in The Bahamas. She is currently attending Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She primarily works in art mediums such as sketches (graphite, colored pencil, charcoal, pastels (oil and soft), ink, markers), and paintings (tea, coffee, acrylic, watercolor, gouache).

She specializes in realism, surrealism, impressionism, cubism, pop art, and minimalism. While living in the Bahamas, she attended primary and high school, where she explored her love for art for 12 years. She has also received high marks for Art on her national examinations, which are the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and the Bahamas General Certificate for Secondary Schools (BGCSE).

Using the nature around her as well as her interest in past Renaissance painters, she excels within the borders of what an all-around artist should be. Her work “Manufactured Narratives” was also featured previously in the MSVU Art Gallery.

This piece invites the viewer to slow down and question the stories they’ve been taught to accept. It challenges the ease with which perception can be manufactured, and the power of images to shape who we believe people are.

Capo eye’m diss-appoint;

Drink! and 20% Sick

Esther is a digital art hobbyist and a student at UNB. She likes making silly little drawings and stickers.

Paths to Knowledge

Artist statement

Bianca Prajescu is a visual artist based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, whose work explores Romanian identity and body positivity. She challenges perceptions of fat stigma with imagery of regal, divine femininity. Her practice consists primarily of digital drawing, though she occasionally works with watercolour, gouache, acrylic, and ink.

Instagram | Website
biancaprajescu.art@gmail.com 

Bianca is currently selling 'Dominița Roz Bon-Bon', limited Edition of 15 prints, signed. 10x12 inches. $25 dollars (unframed).

Mother of Waves

Mistress of Waves

Maiden of Flow

Wave Spinster

Enchanted Books

With the Water Lillies

The Sky of Day and Night

Guardian Maiden

Domnița Roz Bon-Bon

On the Road to Cheili Bicazului

The View Across the Street from My Childhood Home