Who To Follow Vol. V
Illustration by Malaika Astorga
Happy August! We’re all trying to forget that summer is slowly starting to come to a close, and it’s hard to look forward to the workload that’s awaiting us come Fall. That doesn’t mean we should stop creating and dreaming though! I thought I’d do this month’s Who To Follow on visual artists whom I find personally extremely inspiring and who never fail to make me want to make something of my own. Hopefully you too can find some influence/inspiration from these lovely humans, and start brainstorming some cool art projects to start at the end of the summer.
Marie Segolene (@marie.segolene)
Marie Segolene is an intermedia artist, currently focused on performance art. Working from spaces in Montreal, New York, Chicago, and the Hudson Valley, Marie Segolene examines the relationship between trauma and desire. In her own words, “My practice is exhibitionist: it is a combination of staged failures, confessions, and humiliation. In a corner I peel an apple, while a recorded voice screams "BABY IS IN THE CORNER". I fail at sinuously carving one continuous strip of skin, un-ruptured. I hone the fracture.” Follow her to see the development of her work, her beautiful train of thoughts and the documentation of her creations.
Joey Yu is an “illustrator, animator, curator and artist based in London.” Creating beautiful, color based depictions of every day moments, Joey plays on perspective and the combination of abstract and realism to show the world around them. Worth the follow to see their snapshots of the world through their eyes and their art.
“Erica Hart is an interdisciplinary artist from Toronto, but currently lives in Montréal, QC. Exploring notions of psychology and mental health, her work reflects the process of continuous self-actualizing through drawing, painting, fibres and performance.” Erica and I ran in the same circles when I lived in Montreal, and her art is a reflection of her genuine curiousity about the world and the way we exist within it and ourselves.
“Kendra Yee is a Toronto-based artist, designer, and curator. Her work consists of mixed-media paintings, ceramic sculptures, and panel-based illustrations. Yee pulls tales from her personal history, lived experiences and collective memory to form speculative worlds where fluid characters come to life through the conversations of interactive bodies.” Follow Kendra to see the evolution of her work, her current creations through ceramics, and her experiences of art residencies.
Hyers is a New York based photographer, curating raw and honest images of the human body. Playing with the expectations of the erotic, and combining it with the softeness you find in renaissance paintings, Lula’s photographic collection is a truly breathtaking work of art. Focused on the use of light and color, Hyers is one of my biggest inspirations and someone I’ve been following since I was in high school.
You’ve probably seen Tara Booth’s illustrations floating around the internet. Turning her very real struggle with addiction and mental illness into comically honest pieces of visual arts. Her book How to Stay Alive is one of my favorite graphic novels. Booth’s instagram account creates a safe space for us to understand and talk about mental health and the reality of addiction, through her strong sense of humor and her beautiful illustration style.
Carla Gras is a writer, creator, and photographer with roots in NYC, MTL, and PRG.