Recreation and Reconnection

Curated by Cassidy Alejandria

“I associate some of my most heartwarming childhood memories with being outside. Whether it was playing hopscotch on the sidewalk, making chalk drawings, picnics at the beach, or camping with my family. How we would scrape our knees, get sunburnt, sweat dripping into our eyes but we would still beg to stay outside for five more minutes. When did we stop playing outside? When did the places around us become a thoroughfare rather than our destination? How can we reconnect to our surroundings? I want to revisit these feelings of childhood joy and bring them into adulthood.”

Recreation and Reconnection will encourage artists to think about why they have become disconnected to their outdoor surroundings. Exploring these specific, visceral memories exemplifies and encourages us to reconnect to our inner child in outdoor spaces. In a time where there is such intense pressure to put childish things away and “grow up,” this project reinstates the importance of caring for our shared spaces.

How to Make Mud Soup

Ryen Stewart

When I think back to my childhood, I remember sitting outside a small hole in my driveway in Toronto. This hole would be a key piece to mixing natural elements I found in my backyard into "soups" or "potions." My brothers and I would find anything from leaves to pinecones to rocks in order to add texture and depth to the soups. These memories will stick with me as a simple reminder that cooking can be fun, with some creativity.

I currently reside in Vancouver, BC where I am attending Emily Carr University. My major is Communication Design, and my work tends to lean towards a more fun, colourful, and even childlike nature at times. In my zine, I included text and simple layouts as a nod to my experience with typography, but still designed it in a way where it looks hand drawn by a child.

3 Weeks

thenheturnedaround + Sarah Jihae Kaye

3 weeks explores the intersection of coming of age, childhood innocence, and personal growth, all of which are underlined by thematic elements of nature. The writings detail personal accounts of intimate connection between the reader and the writer, placing the former in particularly curated settings; in order for a story to be told, we must know where we find ourselves. What does air sound like? What clothes are you wearing? These questions are answered abstractly, rather than concretely, allowing the reader to form a visual image without direct guidance. The stories told within this zine are contrasted with cyanotypes, some of which are derived from the tablecloth of our childhood, or the dandelions that lined the sidewalks outside our home. All in all, as we move forward in our lives, this zine provides an opportunity for retrospection; we can step back into the innocence we may have lost too soon.

Sarah Jihae Kaye and Adam Ben David, professionally known as thenheturnedaround + Jihae Kaye are interdisciplinary artists based out of Tiohtià:ke/Montréal and Katarokwi/Kingston. The duo collectively specializes in sound, performance, printmaking, and sculpture. Their work focuses on transient elements within human connection, solace, and hope.

Smoke Show

Mara Bureau

This zine is inspired by unconventional methods of connection between the psyche and the environment, and how our perception drastically changes the habitat we live in. Changes within one's state of mind can visually manifest themselves in unexpected ways and become haunting. This zine was created digitally on a tablet with the use of specific tools to simulate pencil marks, making it appear to be done in a traditional medium.

Mara Bureau is a 21-year-old emerging Canadian artist who grew up in a small town called Ashburn. She is currently graduating from the Honours BFA Program with a minor in Art History from Queens University. Mara specializes in drawing and intaglio, as well as oil painting. She puts emphasis on subverting the austerity and expectations of fine art by focusing on a more intuitive way of handling traditional mediums that feel authentic and natural. She has worked as a fabrication assistant with numerous accomplished artists, has exhibited her work in many galleries, and come summer will be a published illustrator.

Ireland: Where Nature Persists

Sylvia Knapczyk

This zine is like a pictorial travel journal. These are places that I have personally visited and photographed, and now are in a small keepsake. It is designed to appear as if I had sketched them while visiting, and thus they are also black and white. The nature in Ireland was breathtaking, and overwhelmingly green even in the heart of the city. Surrounding all the castles, colleges, and other historical buildings, ivy and other greenery persists and makes it that much more beautiful. This zine begs to be coloured in by the holders choice of medium, and is a pocket sized piece of beautiful green Ireland.

I am a self taught artist currently in a Bachelor of Education program at Queen's University. I hold a BAH in history from there as well, and will be continuing my studies for a Master's of history in the fall. Apart from painting and drawing, I also love to travel and explore different cultures. I first developed my passion for travelling when I had the opportunity to live in Ireland for a month, on a practicum placement at Marsh's Library in Dublin. Thus, the library, my colleagues, and Ireland all hold a very dear place in my heart.

Bug Finder

Cassidy Alejandria

As a kid I had a bug collecting kit with a magnifying glass and a small carrier to put bugs in. I would spend hours outside my grandparents house looking for anthills or any type of bug to examine. Now I hate sitting on grass just in case bugs start crawling on me. I want to start seeking out and appreciating nature again, even the bugs that creep me out.

In my experimentations with art I have always found myself drawn to more child-like means of expression. My paintings are mostly finger-painted and when working with oil pastels I try to emphasize their crayon-like texture. I have also been recently inspired by zines. Zines played a large part in the riot grrrl movement and as an art historian focused on contemporary feminist art, I want to explore making zines that pay homage to this part of their past.

longing (winter edition)

Amy Leigh

This one-page mini-zine is part of a larger book project created for Word + Image (ART 425) at the University of Alberta in early 2023. It speaks to the loneliness of the long Winters in Edmonton, where there is a stillness in long dark nights and a longing for Spring. A mixtape accompanies the book project and can be found here.

Amy Leigh (she/her) is a queer, chronically ill settler of Scottish and Irish descent who currently, and graciously resides in amiskwaciywâskahikan via tkaronto. She is a maker, agitator, and cultural worker whose creative praxis centers on community + capacity building through printmaking, zine culture, and epistolary research-creation. Since 2017, Amy has curated The Zine Machine Project -- a roaming gold vending machine that distributes small zines. Amy holds a Diploma in Arts & Cultural Management from MacEwan University and is currently working towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Alberta.

The Woods

Alicia Udvari

I Used to Think I'd Die in the Forest

Alicia Udvari

These two zines explore my relationship with nature and escapism over the course of my undergrad. The first zine "The Woods" was created during my second year at the peak of Covid-19 isolation, while "I used to think I'd die in the forest" is a sequel piece I made at the end of my 4th year. They both express my feelings at the time of wanting to get away and go back to a simpler life, while I don't have the means to do so. "The Woods" goes a darker route and charts my pessimistic feelings at the time, while taking a more dramatic and horrific turn, while the second zine more reflects my true feelings. While I don't believe I'd actually die in the woods, I know it's not a practical decision for me to live alone in the forest, as much as I like to think that I would thrive. It shows how lost we can feel after finally leaving school, a structure that many of us have been in for over 75% of our lives. There is not always a clear path after finishing University, and to me, that lack of knowledge is terrifying.

Alicia Udvari is a visual artist based in Waterloo, Ontario, and is a currently finishing their BFA degree from Queen's University. Alicia works in a variety of different mediums but specializes in printmaking, sculpture, and animation. Their work explores the relationship between humans and nature and asks us how to examine how we as people relate to the world around us.