Bio
Issha Marie is a Toronto-based visual artist and conceptual photographer. She graduated from the University of Toronto in the summer of 2008, where she earned her Honours B.A. in English Literature and Visual Studies. Her work is usually characterized by her use of layers, filters, textures, and saturated colours, much of [her technique] inspired by the illustrious Dave Mckean (who is best known for his photo collages in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman covers).
Issha’s approaches to her [digital] manipulation and photography can be attributed to the influence of a few key artists, all of whom she continues to draw inspiration from: the hauntingly dark and whimsical photographs of Francesca Woodman, Robert Parke-Harrison, Alexey Titarenko, Roger Ballen, Hideo Suzuki, and Kamil Vojnar; the shadow boxes of Joseph Cornell; Louise Bourgeois‘ Cells; the surrealist works of Ernst and Dali. Each of these [artists' pieces] are filled with sentiment, trauma, memory, and nostalgia, allowing the observer access into their individual psychological and emotional states. These artists continue to play an important role in her conceptual and artistic development.
“Like some, if not most conceptual artists, I tend to be more prolific in my art-making process when I am suddenly struck with some sort of life and soul-altering blow. Suddenly, my ways of perceiving change, and with it, my current outlook on life – whatever that may be. It is safe to say that art has become my way of dealing with my personal dilemmas. It has rescued me from delving into a permanent state of hopelessness and depression. Admittedly, I tend to hide my trauma behind extra layers of ‘bubbly’ – behind the guise of a smile permanently etched on my lips. Don’t get me wrong – I am no tortured soul; rather, when I feel intensely, I allow myself to get carried away by its power.
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