Biography

Qiming Sezava Sun(he/him) is a Canadian visual artist, witch, curator, and art educator based in Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory. Working cross-disciplinarily through painting, drawing, sculpture, land art installation, performance art, and jewelry crafting, Sun’s work draws inspiration from nature, animalistic paganism, and queer symbolism. Sun’s spiritual and artistic practices explore the intrinsic connection between the human body and mother nature, navigate the enigmatic and often misunderstood traditions of occult origins, and narrate those untold stories of the forgotten. Sun received his MFA and High Honours BFA from the University of Saskatchewan. His works have been widely exhibited, including many in the permanent collection of several Canadian institutions and galleries. Sun is the Co-Founder of Kyuubi Culture Artist Collective, a Saskatoon-based multidisciplinary Artist Collective.

Statement

The main area of my research is figurative painting and ceramic sculpture. My work is informed by Neoclassicism, Symbolism, magical realism, Impressionism, and Nihonga. Most of my inspiration comes from daily observation, the exploration of nature, research of historical and contemporary artworks, the study of ancient folklore and artifacts, the interpretation of dreams, and the reconstruction of fragments of memories.

Life and death – in particular, the chronological pictorial representations of Animalistic perspectives of death are one of my primary research topics. The theatrical depictions of various esoteric cultural practices associated with the occult, the under-appreciated beauty hidden beneath the seemingly grotesque, and the visual and spiritual connections between the human body and mother nature are some ongoing themes that appear in my artworks.

I use composition to lead the eye through the narration of enigmatic folktales, eccentric parables, and other perplexing accounts told by the Elders that are slowly fading away in history. The distinction between “art” and “craft” means very little to me. For me, the study and preservation of traditional art-making techniques and the development of meaningful concepts are of equal significance.

My other areas of artistic practice include land art installation, performance art, drawing, printmaking, and jewelry crafting. As a practicing witch, visual art is my vehicle for navigating my spirituality and the intimate connection between humans and nature. I use visual language to explore my heritage, to narrate and preserve the enigmatic and often misunderstood traditions as an Asian-Canadian Artist. As a proud member of the 2SLGBT community, I strive to represent the marginalized and underrepresented and tell those untold stories with my imagery.