we're gonna die gallery

we are delighted to present a curated series from four visual artists, all of whom are based across the prairies to the west coast.

We asked them to select pieces that are tied to the themes and experience of young jean lee's play, "we're gonna die".

special thanks to the incredible artists involved:

Mike Hooves, Alex Pavlenko, Elisa shigehiro, and Bri strong.

Mike Hooves

Mike Hooves is a prairie queer working in illustration, animation and murals in Treaty 7 - Calgary.

Mike uses simple shapes, saturated colour, and gestural linework to create playful and engaging imagery that utilises queer aesthetics and signifiers.

@mikehooves

Alex pavlenko alex.pavlenko.ca

Alex is a Ukrainian Canadian painter, sculptor, and inventor who has been creating art across Western Canada for over 50 years. He has been commissioned by institutions, including the Vancouver International Airport and the Galt Museum, as well as private collectors across the prairies, California, Hawaii, and Hong Kong. You can find his outdoor murals in the town of High River and throughout downtown Lethbridge He currently resides in Southern Alberta, where he builds kinetic wind sculptures and tends to his 60-odd tomato plants.

Both “Passage” and “The Dinner Party” were created in the 1990s during his Biomorphic Phantasmagoria period, where he explored combining traditional methods of painting with airbrush The tabletop in “Maternity’s Bastion” was created with layers of resin in order for the effect to separate the different painted elements. It is hearty, steadfast, functional, and hopefully a little bit terrifying to look at. Please don’t put your drink on it.