Queer Arts Festival: Portals

×

Expand

Image courtesy of Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art

झरना - CASCADE (2024), ink, acrylic, fabric, clothing ornamentation, thread, millboard, stonehenge paper (photo courtesy of the artist)

Curated by Mark Takeshi McGregor and Diane Hau Yu Wong, this group exhibition explores “portals” as catalysts for change—points of departure that invite reflection on identity, migration, and the possibilities of reimagined worlds via the works of six Vancouver artists: Arkah, Evan Matchett-Wong, Sena Cleave, Miles Saraswat, Christian Yves Jones, and Naomi Leung 梁珮恩.

Today, we are highlighting the work of Miles Saraswat in Portals. झरना - CASCADE is a book focusing on the diasporic experience of loss of language and assimilation throughout Canada. Through broken snippets of conversation it explores the artist's relationship to his native language Hindi, and the damage caused by the heightened fear-mongering that accompanied the wave of immigration in the 90s and early 2000s. Using traditional Indian patternmaking and fabrics, झरना - CASCADE dissects what it means to rebuild a connection to the motherland.

Miles Saraswat (he/him) is an artist based in Vancouver, Canada. His work explores themes of South-Asian spiritualism and the diaspora experience in Canada. Miles is committed to investigating how teachings from Hinduism can be relearned and acted upon through the diasporic lens, creating an understanding through his art impacted by his experience as a queer person. His work often works with imagery of the sun, bodies, environmental change, traditional South-Asian objects, and sunflowers.

Location: Centre A (205-268 Keefer Street)

Exhibition Period: June 21 - August 23, 2025

Gallery Hours: Wed – Sat, 12 – 6 PM