Mohsen AhiAndy (he/him) is an Iranian artist/ designer, currently lives in Saskatoon. His background in industrial design (BDes/MDes) has had an evident impact on his artistic practices. Mohsen’s artistic production generally maneuvers between two main approaches: studio installations that are mostly made through a trial and experimental process, and outdoor projects and site-specific sculptures that are fabricated through a definite and design process. The visual language Mohsen utilizes in his practice is drawn from the geography of his Iranian upbringing which is filled with memories of a chaotic revolution and the political and social crisis which followed. In Mohsen’s works, alteration of form, structure, physical matter, and material are parts of his instinctive exploration. A process that helps him to understands the notion of his psyche as an independent meaningful object cluttered with layers of complicated realities.

My intuition is the catalyst for the myriad of ephemera I collect and organize, trusting that a deeper camaraderie will emerge over time. I am energized by natural materials spotted in urban green spaces by virtue of chance encounters. Freely exploring ways to disrupt the traditional forms, systems, rules and surface barriers of unheeded everyday objects permits me to cultivate new meaning. Merging these materials as I reimagine collections methodologies, documentation, and taxonomies in an endeavour to create my own systems of organisation is at the heart of my current curiosity.

 

My artistic practice is rooted in drawing, and the core of this practice is inherently both experiential and embodied. This practice is deeply tied to process; this process is reflective, material, self-revealing, and attempts to engage in the “here and now.” Intuition is central to this engagement, and so I consider the act of mark making as it relates to inner thought and feeling, emotive and physical.

Within my practice, drawing takes place both within and outside of myself, and then becomes something of its own. Drawing facilitates a solitary dialogue through which I attempt to materialize – a mark, a moment – attempt to come to know, and ultimately, try to make sense of. 

Adrian Golban is in the second year of the MFA program. He trained in Romania in figurative and technical traditions with wood, stone and bronze. Since arriving in Saskatoon in 2012, he has adapted his working methods and now primarily expresses himself with found and everyday materials as well as clay. This transition has posed many challenges and opportunities; increasingly, he is referencing his diasporic identity, often working with memories and experiences specific to his life in Romania. Adrian holds a BFA from the Academy of Visual Arts in Romania and a MA in Educational Management. His award-winning artworks have been exhibited across Europe and are in many private collections.

Nicole Leroy is a French-born American artist, whose practice and research focuses on commercial culture. Her work predominantly incorporates found objects and children’s entertainment media, which form multimedia electronic sculptures. Reinforcing this practice, her research revolves around visual and popular culture, as well as the autonomy of readily-available consumer objects.

Her current body of work focuses on constructing the mythology of the flora and fauna of a fictional planet, who manifest themselves in our world through sculptures made of altered children’s toys. As individuals, the sculptures express themselves through movements and vocalizations, which are created by altering the circuitry of electronic toys to produce unintended results. This ultimately results in a collection of works that form an interconnected community of eccentric creatures, who celebrate diversity and pluralism.