SAMANTHA SCHEMBRI
Sam Schembri (she/ they) is a queer visual artist from Edmonton, Alberta. She is also a graduate of Emily Carr University of Art & Design in Vancouver, BC.
"I moved to Toronto after completing my BFA and worked as a freelance artist and art installer. My involvement in the queer community inspires my research in gender studies, mythology, and euhemerism. My first solo show at “Slice of Life” in Vancouver 2020 was titled “Iconic”. "Iconic" was its own space of worship, incorporating personal elements of fetishism in object-hood alongside iconic centerpieces to utilize the ritualistic behaviors of museums, domestic spaces, personal collections, queer expression, and narcissism.”
"I express modern sexuality, gender, and identity through reworking myths to expose homosexuality embodied in classical histories. All media explorations are informed by the previous, bringing sculptural aspects into my paintings, drawings into photography, painting onto printing, abstraction into figuration, and bridging the gaps between different artistic realms. I have re-envisioned myths and included floor-length screen-printed mirrors from halftones made from my photographs of queer friends posing as Greek gods/goddesses in drag. I painted 6-foot diameter circular canvases with magnetic backs to create an interactive collage with my screen-prints. I have explored more sculptural concepts making cherubim wall pieces and repainting found objects. I am constantly expanding my approaches to different art media forms and often combine multiple processes."
Artwork by Samantha Schembri
