Seema Shah | Unthought Known

×

Expand

OPENING RECEPTION: Friday, April 21 from 6-10 pm

Unthought Known is Seema Shah's debut solo exhibition. It is part of The Beaumont Studios' 2022 Artist To Watch Award.

Seema Shah is a self-taught collage artist and writer. Working intuitively, she pieces together narratives that are dark and questioning. Her creative process is one of self-discovery, a process guided by the subconscious that helps give form to the ‘unthought known’. A term coined by psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas, 'unthought known' refers to experiences that reside within us, and that we in some way “know,” but which we have never “thought” or been able to put into words.

Hinting at something deeper, meaning is expressed obliquely in Shah’s work through the use of metaphor - and, at times, even humour - creating distance and allowing the viewer to find their own connection to it.

Unthought Known includes collages on surfaces such as vintage book covers and matchboxes. It also features several text-based works, including collages with cut-up poetry and an excerpt from a book Shah is currently working on that combines her writing with collage drawings. Opportunities to interact with “invented objects” will offer a more intimate viewer experience. Though dark and intense, the exhibition is also surprisingly playful at times.

Shah was a recipient of The Beaumont Studios' 2022 Artist To Watch Award and a highly commended artist in the 2022 Contemporary Collage Magazine Awards. Since 2017, her art has been exhibited in galleries in Canada, the US, and the UK. Her writing has been published in literary journals and anthologies, and shortlisted in writing contests. Currently, she works out of her home studio in Vancouver, BC.