Growing Pains
A partial view of Growing Pains from just outside Union Gallery’s Project Room. The focal point is a large, spiderweb-like sculpture, illuminated with purple light. Shamara Peart, An ode to arachne’s tapestry, 2024, soft sculptures. | Photo: Courtesy of The Candid Creative Co, Shanique Peart.
Sumera Khan, Shamara Peart, Shanique Peart, and Alicia Udvari
Project Room + Feature Wall
Union Gallery: January 14–February 15, 2025
Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre: January 18–March 22
Opening reception: Saturday, January 18, 2025
12–2pm at Union Gallery, 2–4pm at Modern Fuel
Growing Pains is a collaborative exhibition and coalition of works by artists Sumera Khan, Shamara Peart, Shanique Peart, and Alicia Udvari. Each artist delves into relationships with family, cultural identity, and community, to inspect the idea of growth and transition as they navigate through various stages in their lives and artistic careers.
Meeting through the Twofold Residency, led by Co-Directors Jill Glatt and Berlin Reed, four BIPOC artists were presented an opportunity to dive into their practice in community with others—sparking relationships, challenging discussions, and introducing new collaborations.
ARTIST STATEMENTS
Sumera Khan:
When my loved one was diagnosed with dementia, I felt the need to record every precious memory with her through videos, journals, and art. This therapeutic way of dealing with adversity organically found its way in my art style. My oil paintings, usually done in alla prima impressionistic style, capture stories that are representative of spaces and familiar objects that might not have a deeper meaning at first glance, but each image is a deeply felt emotion or memory. I strongly believe that art has the power to heal, bring communities together, and build deeper connections within the populace. Through my art, I want to provide an opportunity to members of the community to find moments of connections with each other. I find it rewarding to connect people through stories in the familiar and perhaps during that process, we all could bond with empathy and a deeper understanding of each other.
Shamara Peart:
My goal for my art is always to communicate a story. While doing so, I work to present an alternative perspective or use for an item. In the past, I've emphasized the importance of repurposing items through sculpture. Currently, I try to capture moments of life with my poetry. I challenged myself to write with an unfamiliar theme throughout the Twofold residency. Horror was selected, and I wondered how best I could write about the eerie elements of the Black lived experience. My family has always prioritized good storytelling, so I wanted to make that apparent in my work. As a result, this collection was created. I don't believe that art needs to be full of abstractions; instead, effort and creativity are two means that should always be on display. Since I use exploration as a driving force for what I do, I'm always open to being pushed into trying new genres or mediums. When I initially started creating, art was used as a means of better understanding myself. This summer encouraged me to look beyond that and experiment with a new genre and medium.
Shanique Peart:
As a multidisciplinary artist, my work bridges photography, dance, and storytelling to explore themes of nature, connection, and community. Each image is a dialogue, blending human movement with natural landscapes to celebrate the unity between body and environment. Through vibrant compositions and dynamic perspectives, I aim to tell stories that resonate with shared experiences and collective memory. My work invites viewers to reflect on the intersections of identity, culture, and the spaces we inhabit. Rooted in collaboration and inspired by community, I strive to create art that fosters connection, evokes emotion, and highlights the beauty of interconnected lives.
Alicia Udvari:
Muse was born from a simple desire: I wanted to make a puppet.
I wanted to figure out how to build a working puppet and break down how to create something inanimate that holds so much human emotion. My work is especially process-driven, and through stop-motion animation, sculpture, and printmaking, I can be deeply involved in every stage of creation. For me, art is an act of communication—expressing what I struggle to do with words—, and I show that through my process.
I have often felt a sense of imposter syndrome as someone who doesn't feel they always fit into the world of fine art. These same feelings that isolate me from the art world also make me irrationally hesitant to show vulnerability. Muse became a stand-in for myself and a way to display my vulnerabilities and insecurities, under the security blanket of being a silly puppet. Throughout my work, I often take inspiration from film, TV, music, and have been especially drawn to children's media, for the same reason I love puppets. They distill big problems with simplicity and charm, breaking them down into digestible pieces. This body of work is my experimental endeavour to unapologetically represent myself –my needs and wants, desires and insecurities– through the playful art I create.
THANKS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special thanks to Jill Glatt and Berlin Reed, co-curators of the Twofold Residency and great friends.