VMF Academy Collection Artist: Sandeep Johal
Sandeep Johal is a Vancouver based multidisciplinary visual artist with an extensive portfolio of exhibitions, projects, murals, community events, and public talks. Her unique style is strikingly beautiful with the use of bright colours, textures, ornamentation, and the occasional goddess or animal figure. As a result of growing up in an Indian household, Johal finds comfort in the aesthetics from her heritage to help talk about difficult or painful topics. As her work often centres around stories of women, she uses her art to bring awareness to subjects such as gender based violence and disparity.
Some of her most recent works include a solo exhibition at Burrard Arts Foundation, a massive mural for Nelson International Mural Festival, a mural for VMF’s #MakeArtWhileApart project at the start of the pandemic, and features in group exhibitions at Gallery Jones and Art Rapture. You can also find two murals she painted for VMF in previous years (one on Granville Island and the other in the alley of 147 E Broadway) as well as a collaborative site-specific mural at 125 E 10th that commemorates the Komagata Maru Episode that occurred in 1914 in the Burrard Inlet.
We are so excited to have Sandeep as a part of the VMF Academy Collection. Her piece, “Beast Woman”, “represents power, strength and resilience and a reminder that [women] deserve to be here.” With so much depth in her work, we reached out to learn more about her piece that’s available for purchase plus a little about what she’s been up to this year.
VMF: Can you tell us about the print you’ve chosen to be a part of the VMF Academy Collection?
SJ: This print is based off of a black and white drawing study I created in 2019 which I ended up painting a mural of at Vancouver Mural Festival Headquarters in 2020. It’s kind of weird and creepy, but beautiful at the same time.
VMF: You use storytelling with many of your works, is there a specific story or message connected to this piece?
SJ: There’s no specific story connected to this piece, but it’s part of a larger drawing study series of Beast Women. It’s an evolution of my female figures which explores our shadow selves, especially our anger. Being in touch with our anger is powerful. I want women to embrace all parts of themselves - to see the power in anger and how it can be a constructive force.
VMF: Was there anything in particular that inspired you throughout the creation of this piece?
SJ: This piece was inspired by a drawing collaboration I did in 2019 with my friend and fellow artist Sara Khan. It then went on to inspire the imagery of my most recent show, Beast of Burden, at Burrard Arts Foundation.
VMF: Despite the challenges of 2020/2021, what were some of the highlights you experienced as an artist?
SJ: I’m grateful that I’ve been able to work from home and have had a steady workload throughout the pandemic. A year ago I painted a mural for #MakeArtWhileApart. It was such a privilege to transform a boarded up storefront into something that could promote joy and hope as well as alleviate fear and anxiety at the beginning of such an uncertain time. A few months later, I painted my largest mural to date for Nelson International Mural Festival (1500 sf). I learned how to operate a boom lift which was pretty cool. I capped off the year with the beginning of my ten week residency at Burrard Arts Foundation which culminated in a solo show, Beast of Burden, in 2021. I delved into the dark side of motherhood and told my own story through textiles, a new-to-me medium.
VMF: Where can we expect to see your work next?
SJ: I have a solo show at Surrey Art Gallery in Sept 2021 as well as some very exciting illustration projects which I’ll be able to share later this year. I’ll also be starting a few mural projects in May/June.