If a picture paints a thousand words, what would our national anthem look like on canvas?
TORONTO, June 12, 2017 /CNW/ - Award-winning Canadian artist Sandra MacGillivray of Peterborough has recently completed what some might call the most Canadian of artistic undertakings, bravely taking on the challenge of interpreting and painting each verse of our beloved national anthem, "O Canada".
The body of work, aptly called "O Canada," is a collection of seven paintings, each artistically portraying a verse of our national anthem. Each painting is mounted on a display that has the words to "O Canada" printed around each painting.
Sandra's work has been gaining momentum on the Canadian art scene, and she has recently been accepted into the prestigious Society of Canadian Artists (SCA). Her sold-out show at Toronto's Artist Project in 2016 allowed Sandra to devote the past year to the development and creation of the "O Canada" collection.
The symbolism in the paintings touches on all things Canadian—from the struggles facing Canada's First Nations communities to protecting our natural resources and, of course, our official national winter sport, hockey. Each painting tells its own story, and the text is displayed alongside each image, helping the viewer to more fully appreciate Sandra's artistic interpretations.
In Sandra's own words, "In choosing to take on this project, I wanted to create something that has not been done before. I also wanted to create a body of work that would last beyond the year of Canada's 150th, a legacy of sorts. I hope the collection will live on as a whole beyond the 2017 celebrations. Although the paintings are my interpretation of our anthem, I hope that [they] will resonate with the viewers to create a sense of Canadian pride.
"O Canada" begins its first exposition at Toronto's Dimensions Gallery on June 3 and runs until July 3, with a launch and media reception taking place on Thursday June 15th 6pm. to 9pm.
SOURCE Sandra MacGillivray Canadian Artist
Dimensions Gallery, 732 Queen Street East (at Broadview), Toronto, Ontario. M4M 1H2, 416-463-7263, www.dimensionsframing.com; Sandra MacGillivray, [email protected]
Share this article