Simone Elizabeth Saunders: u•n•i•t•y•

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Simone Elizabeth Saunders, "Four Queens," 2020

fibre mixed media, Courtesy of the artist.

Simone Elizabeth Saunders: u•n•i•t•y•

Opening Reception: November 4, 2021 at 6pm - 10 pm

Simone Elizabeth Saunders explores personal history, Afro-diaspora, and Black sisterhood through bold and colourful textiles. Borrowing motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage, art history, literature, music and current events, she creates tufted portraits of singular figures, each a montage of powerful, inspirational Black bodies that collectively surface as a strong and resilient community. Portraits such as Lady Justice, young, courageous and keepin' six, or Four Queens, recalling Alphonse Mucha’s Art Nouveau work Precious Stones, reconsider iconic figures and gestures in a contemporary light. Lady Justice takes a knee echoing Black Lives Matter and the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor amongst so many others, while the Four Queens pose seductively and defiantly above calls for Black Love, Black Dreams, Black Magic and Black Power. This unabashed presence is common throughout all her works, at once challenging the viewer and demanding to be seen.

Saunders further amplifies her subjects with dynamic backgrounds that often employ feminist expressions from moons and circular motifs to blossoming flowers suggesting cycles and connections to nature. Totems are frequently included – predatory animals such as lions, leopards and snakes become emblems of strength and grace. And yet, her works manifest a compelling tension between the powerful connotations of her imagery and colour palette with the soft tactility of her material. Hand tufting her works, threads of acrylic, wool, velvet and more, introduce a tender dimension—a sensitive, vulnerable and enticing facet to dismantle the misperceptions of Black women. Furthermore, the mingling of individual threads of yarn brought together into a collective whole echoes the interconnectedness of her subjects. As much as these powerful portraits connote Black joy and resilience, it is how they are woven together into narratives of connection that, for Saunders, offers herself and others a potent sense of belonging.

Biography

Simone Elizabeth Saunders

(she/her)

Simone Elizabeth Saunders (she/her) is a textile artist based in Calgary, Alberta. She holds a B.F.A. from the Alberta University of Arts 2020. Her textiles are hand tufted in the medium of rug-making. Saunders explores themes of the diaspora, ancestorship and Black womanhood. Her colourful textiles highlight motifs and iconography from her Jamaican heritage and engage with sociocultural factors reclaiming power from oppressive ideologies. Saunders has a career in the theatre arts, weaving her experiences and integrating dramatism and story-telling within her creations - uplifting narratives of Black joy and resilience.

Simone was named the National Winner for the Bank of Montreal’s 1st Art Competition in 2020. Simone has been internationally featured, select media credits include: Create Magazine, Canada’s House&Home Magazine, CBC Arts, CBCq, Boooooom, Uppercase Magazine, Pom-Pom Magazine (England), FairLady (South Africa), Surface Design Journal, Colossal and DesignMilk (USA). Most recent exhibitions include the Alberta Craft Council for the Arts and Art Museum University of Toronto. Simone has been collected by several international museums and her emerging series will debut at Contemporary Calgary.