About the works:

Vera Schnekenburger work blurs the line between the grotesque and the beautiful. Her prints are titled “Jolie Laide l” and “Jolie Laide ll”, which is a French term that describes unconventional beauty.

She strives to surpass traditionally her own repulsive impressions of death by focussing on the aesthetic aspects to invoke appreciation. It is an attempt to confront her own fear of death.

With her sculptural busts, called “Traditional” and “Psychological”, she visually addresses the dichotomy of the external appearance versus the internal mental state. “Traditional” represents the outward pretense of normalcy that is affected to the outside world. “Psychological” represents the struggles that are universal, such as stress and anxiety.

The painting “Addict Insane” addresses the loss and pain associated with death.

The works by Billy Marshall are prints, and display the different types of techniques found within this extensive and varied medium.

This year, with her project “The Stages of Grief” she has explored her thoughts pertaining to mental illness and the effects of loss. She had hoped by creating these images that she could sublimate overwhelming sensation into something that represents the act of moving on. The stages (shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) are represented out of order, because this process does not always follow the guidelines set for it and personal healing is never in a straight line.

With her pieces “Cleaved; earth tones” and “Seize and hold firmly; in black”, she investigates the complexity of mental illness by creating unsettling imagery. Particularly delving into anxiety and dissociation, she seeks to resolve the feelings of agitation, doubt and alienation common in dealing with psychiatric disorders by creating a visual dialogue and a sense of commonality with her audience.

About the artists:

Vera Schnekenburger is entering her fourth year in the fine art program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Vera was born in Germany and moved to Canada in her early twenties. Besides being a full-time student, Vera also takes part in numerous community projects. She has shown her works numerous venues, such as Grant MacEwan University and the Gray Gallery. She has worked with artists, such as Tad Warszynski, Morgan Wedderspoon, and Royden Mills. Vera Schnekenburger work blurs the line between the grotesque and the beautiful.

Billy Marshall was born and raised in Fort McMurray in northern Alberta. She finished her Art and Design Certificate at Keyano College before transferring into the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Alberta. She is focusing on printmaking and intermedia, learning from artists such as Marilene Olivier and Marc Seigner. Her work explores psychological spaces and mental illness with particular emphasis on the female form. Her work has been exhibited at Keyano College and the University of Alberta. She is expanding her printmaking practice and discussing within her art what place femininity and mental illness has within modern society.