AUGUST 20, 2023

Supercrawl is pleased to announce the unveiling of two large-scale public works of art now on display in downtown Hamilton. On August 28, 2023, Reckoning, a digital collage work by artist stylo starr, was installed on the south facade of 118 James Street North. A short distance to the southwest, Nathan Eugene Carson‘s painting The Conversation was installed in a new location, on the south facade of 91 James Street North, on August 29, 2023. The artworks are presented as part of Supercrawl’s 2023 Visual & Public Art programming and will be on display for a year.  

stylo starr, Reckoning, 2023, digital collage Image Credit: stylo starr. Image courtesy of the artist

stylo starr 

Reckoning, 2023, digital collage

Artist Statement: I create intuitively, and believe there is a visual alchemy that happens in the process of cut and paste. I am energized by the tactility of old books, magazines, scrap paper or other found materials, and I appreciate collage for its accessibility. Working digitally unlocks a whole other way of approaching collage that further motivates me to stretch my imagination as I muse on possible futures. The focus of my work is the elevation of Black people and asserting our existence in fantasy and the future. I remove all spatial and temporal references. Challenges of limited representation are often encountered while sourcing material – not to mention the potential of engaging with historically harmful sources. These challenges are often met through experimentation with photography and digital collage as a solution. In either practice, the subject ultimately is recontextualized and appointed the power of
the gaze. The subject is Divine.

Artist Biography: stylo starr is a collage artist whose work centres nature, fantasy and the Afrofuture. Her work is driven by the observation and integration of fine layered detail in a collaboration with her deep amateur interests in astrology, crystals, herbalism, lepidopterology and the metaphysical – all of which are frequently explored in her collages. stylo’s art reflects beauty and power, and she believes prominent and positive representation of Blackness in the arts is critical and necessary. stylo has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Hamilton and the Art Gallery of Burlington among others and is an emerging curator and arts educator. She also facilitates creative mindfulness workshops open to a variety of age groups and experiences both in-person and online. stylo is based in her hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, situated upon the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas, where she works and lives with her feline companion, Samo.

Presented by Supercrawl in partnership with McMaster Museum of Art and McMaster University

Nathan Eugene Carson, The Conversation, 2023, painting. Photo Credit: Jonathan Groeneweg. Image courtesy of the artist

Nathan Eugene Carson

The Conversation, 2023, painting

Artist Statement: My artistic practice is focus on creating individual and bodies of work that inspire, inform, and invigorate both the viewer and myself to meditate on the beauty existing in the world. My process focuses on the reclamation of discarded materials such as paper, cardboard, and paint, and non-traditional materials such as gift cards, plastics, take-out food containers etc. Reclaiming, repurposing and repairing are important parts of my practice ensuring that the artwork created is truly “something out of nothing” giving materials a new sense of purpose and new life in the form of artworks. The subject matter within my art varies with thematic seasons of creation, however the focus on these reclaimed materials remains consistent throughout.   Every finished work of art conveys that a life or soul has been breathed into it, magically reincarnated, and then the work is complete.

Artist Biography: Nathan Eugene Carson (b. 1980, lives and works in Hamilton, Ontario) received a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2005. His drawings and paintings have since been shown at Verso Gallery, Lennox Contemporary, Gallery One, and the Drake Hotel in Toronto. Carson’s work was also featured during the AGO First Thursdays in partnership with the RBC Emerging Artists Projects and StreetARToronto. In 2016, he was part of an exhibition titled Ponto, the first of several held at Hamilton’s Oswald Gallery. Other group exhibitions include Free Fall (2016) and Worked Over (2017), both at Oswald Gallery, as well as 100 Paintings (2019) at The Carnegie Gallery, Dundas, Ontario, and Cut From The Same Cloth (2021) at the Power Plant Toronto, Ontario. His most recent solo exhibition Black Carnival (2022-23) and artist residency took place at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

nathaneugenecarson.ca

Presented by Supercrawl in partnership with McMaster Museum of Art and McMaster University

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ABOUT SUPERCRAWL

A not-for-profit arts organization situated within the traditional territories of the Erie, Chonnonton (Neutral), Wendat, Mississauga, and Haudenosaunee nations, Supercrawl is committed to honouring, showcasing and celebrating all varieties of creative work. Positioning local and emerging artists alongside significant provincial, national and international peers, the festival fosters and promotes arts and culture as well as the myriad benefits they provide.

Presented by TD Bank Group (TD) as part of the TD Ready Commitment to amplify diverse voices, Supercrawl is Hamilton’s premier multi-arts festival, fusing new and independent music with art installations, fashion, performance, literature, theatre, and artisanal craft. Supercrawl’s diverse multi-disciplinary program of sound, performance, visual and media arts is staged along a pedestrian-only creative corridor in the heart of downtown.

Since 2010, Supercrawl’s Visual Arts programming has showcased upwards of 100 artists and featured visual art installations in a variety of media. Supercrawl provides opportunities to local, regional and national artists and performers at both early and established stages of their practices. An annual call for submissions is issued to invite proposals from artists working in a variety of media, and art-lovers will also find roughly two dozen gallery spaces and artists’ studios in and around Supercrawl’s neighbourhood.

Supercrawl was shortlisted for a 2019 Ontario Tourism Award of Excellence for Tourism Event of the Year and 2017 Canadian Tourism Award for Event of the Year. The festival received the 2015 Ontario Tourism Award of Excellence for Tourism Event of the Year, and has been recognized as one of Festival and Events Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals/Events for six consecutive years (2015-2020). Supercrawl is a member organization of the Major International Festivals and Events Network of Ontario, the Canadian Music Live Association, and Festivals and Events Ontario.