Photography

Item Description

Abyss, 2022, Cyanotype, 11 in x 14 in.

Since 2021, Dion Prints has been earnestly present in the local creative scene and is actively working on perfecting her craft. As an emerging artist, her work has been exhibited in numerous Galleries located in Ottawa since 2021. These include the exhibition titled How I Love You at the Ottawa Art Gallery in 2022, Ottawa’s first Black hair show titled Crépu: Our DNA at the Saw Gallery in 2023, The Open House at the School of Photographics Art in Ottawa in 2023 and the exhibition titled Bonafide Digital at the Niche Ottawa Gallery in 2021. She has had much success in published artwork locally and internationally. Her artwork appeared in Ottawa’s local zine titled Zine – 003 and Zine – 004 by the Ottawa Design Club. Her passion for her art lead her to venture outside of Canada and has been published in a Chicago based zine called 87th Family Magazine: Vol.1 by the 87th Family. Not only that, but her most recent artwork has been published in the Issue 21 Vol. 17 of a Netherlands magazine titled Selin Magazine.

As a Black artist, my main goal is to artistically showcase Black Canadian culture in their natural, purest and joyful elements. I want my work to exude a safe space and a sense of identity that is often overlooked in favour of the US-based African American community. Our community in Canada is a constant target of racism and discrimination, which leads us to be disregarded in relation to our skills. However, we are more than our skin colour, and we deserve to showcase the liberating aspect of being a Black Canadian. I aim to challenge harmful stereotypes and portray the true essence of humanity. I believe that our skin colour should not define us. Our experiences, thoughts, emotions, and actions make us who we are. I created this artwork titled Abyss based on those values.  I captured the beauty of building community without pinpointing our differences. I believe that each person is unique and deserves to be celebrated for who they are, regardless of their skin colour.

Je cherche à remettre en question les stéréotypes néfastes et à dépeindre le fondement même de l’humanité. Je crois que la couleur de notre peau ne devrait pas nous définir. Ce sont nos expériences, nos idées, nos émotions et nos actions qui forgent notre identité. J’ai créé cette œuvre d’art intitulée Abyss [Abîme] en me basant sur ces valeurs. J’ai capturé la beauté d’une communauté en devenir sans pointer du doigt nos différences. Je crois que chaque personne est unique et mérite d’être célébrée pour ce qu’elle est, quelle que soit la couleur de sa peau.

Item Special Note

Artist Website/Site Web de l'artiste: http://dionprints.com

Instagram: @dionprints

Twitter: @odaiyon

Dion Prints is a Haitian-Nigerian-Canadian self-taught multimedia artist living in Ottawa, ON. Her work is intended to exude a safe space and a sense of identity, which collides with her quest to self-discovery. As a way to express herself, she includes scannography, collage and spray-painting, forming a new language.

Dion Prints est un artiste multimédia autodidacte Haïtienne-Nigériane-Canadienne basée à Ottawa, ON. Son travail vise à dégager un espace sécurisé et explore le sujet d'identité dans sa quête de découverte de soi. Afin de s'exprimer, elle utilise la scannographie, le collage et la peinture à l’aérosol formant un nouveau langage.