Six Star Magazine Six Star Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 21

MIYA TURNBULL
Miya Turnbull grew up on a farm near Edmonton and her studies took
her to Montreal before she ended up settling in Halifax. Her artwork
takes the form of masks, paintings, animation, and still and moving
photography. The masks form an enduring theme in her work; she uses
them not to conceal, but to expose different “faces” and to express a
variety of “gazes.”
“My masks are essentially three-dimensional self-portraits that can be
worn, displayed or projected upon,” she explains. “I manipulate my own
image over and over to appear different every time, changing the slant
of my eyes or the shape of my face or re-creating myself—for example,
as a Japanese doll or a character from Kabuki or Noh theatre. I do this
to temporarily separate myself from my physical appearance, which is
often how we are defined: as we are seen in the eyes of others.”
While the masks are self-portraits, they are—more pointedly—visual
challenges to the viewer to return her various gazes. “I hope viewers ask
themselves if they stereotype or make assumptions about others, based
on what they look like,” she says. “I want them to think about how we
value other human beings, despite race, age, gender or visible disabilities.
If we judge someone based upon appearance, what, then, is the value of
the actual person?” Miya’s work can be seen in an upcoming exhibition
at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre Gallery.
BRYCE KANBARA
Bryce Kanbara is an artist, gallery owner, community arts worker, founder of
Hamilton Artists, Inc. and Curator/Chair of the Arts Committee of the Japanese
Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto. His gallery, You Me Gallery, was one of the first
in the James Street North area of Hamilton, now the heart of a burgeoning art scene.
He is the recipient of the Hamilton Arts Award and the Carnegie Art Award, and has
an extensive record of public exhibitions at both the regional and national level.
Bryce’s studio practice includes the series Pajaros, which are large gestural paintings
and cut-outs of birds (that fly with vibrant energy). He is also engaged in “community
art practice,” which involves the participation of others. For example, Hiroshima/
Siesta features the chalk outlines of persons lying on the ground, depicting the victims
of the atomic bomb. It’s a haunting art project/installation that conflates events and
meanings. In discussing this kind of art-making, Bryce observes how the “solitude of
the studio is important, but it became increasingly clear that the community could
provide answers to questions I wasn’t even asking at the time.”
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