Convergence / Divergence
Pansee Atta
October 17-November 3, 2009
Reception and Artist Talk: October 23, 2009, 6-8p


Pansee Atta, Salome, Acrylic on Canvas, 2009

“[Cultural] hybridity to me is the ‘third space’ which enables other positions to emerge. This third space displaces the histories that constitute it, and sets up new structures of authority […]” – Homi Bhabha, “The Third Space” (1990)

Binaries converge - the codes that come with being male or female, Egyptian or Canadian, Muslim or Secular - and from these paradoxes, a new way of being emerges, one that is more concerned with living authentically than with following tradition.

Because Pansee Atta’s experiences never fit neatly in any of these categories, the art she creates is more of a dialogue about these themes than a simple, unified whole. The bodies depicted are anxious and empowered, the surface of the canvas is decorative yet challenging, the symbolism refers but never gives in to that of various traditions. The result may be problematic, and so it should be: her experience of self is problematic. But by being honest, unflinchingly and embarrassingly honest, there comes the possibility of creating new ideals for a jaded generation.

Pansee Atta is a painter that wants to make big, bold, work that makes people happy and makes people think. She is completing her fourth year in the Queen’s BFA program, and runs a muraling business. She was born in Riyadh, grew up in Egypt, then moved to Kincardine, Ajax, and Kingston in a short span of time, which is why her work is all about carving out an identity that is uniquely your own.