United, 2020

S. Phenden

Acrylic and glaze on canvas

As a second-generation immigrant growing up in Canada, I always feel it is important to take pride in my ethnical background.

My mother is from Nepal, and my father is from Tibet. Since I was born and raised outside of my home countries, the only sense of “home” I have experienced growing up was the unity within Nepali and Tibetan communities in Canada.

I incorporated the concept of unity in my artwork by blending the colours and using a stencil to create a texture that spans the entire background. The colours and shapes resemble those in the Nepali and Tibetan flags.