These series of work question the notion of being Canadian by researching the landscape paintings of the infamous Canadian artist Tom Thomson. In this project, Esfahani removes herself from the work by hiring another artist, Jessica Joyce, to replicate 3 Tom Thomson paintings and by 3D printing the paintings. This act of removal situates Esfahani as the observer of the work rather than the maker and translates the work into stereotypical objects. Through applying theories of cultural translation to the realm of visual arts practice, this project destabilizes the idea of a static Canadian identity and suggests Homi Bhabha’s third space as site of identification, where cultures are negotiated, and new narratives are adapted and hybridized.
Left to right: Morning Replica, oil on board, painted by Jessica Joyce, 21.6 × 25.4 cm (8.5 x 10.5 in), 2024. Canoe Lake Replica oil on board, painted by Jessica Joyce, 21.6 × 25.4 cm (8.5 x 10.5 in), 2024. Red Sumac Replica, oil on board, painted by Jessica Joyce, 21.6 × 25.4 cm (8.5 x 10.5 in), 2024. All works by Soheila Esfahani.
Soheila Esfahani, Plastic Canoe Lake, 3D printed PLA, 21 × 25.4 cm (8.25 x 10.5 in), 2023.
Soheila Esfahani, Plastic Morning, 3D printed PLA, 21 × 25.4 cm (8.25 x 10.5 in), 2023. Installation view.
Member since: 2006
Number of exhibitions at the gallery: 7
Tell us a story about Red Head: As an artist, I have been fortunate to be a part of the Red Head collective and be able to test my ideas in my solo exhibitions there. The exhibitions at Red Head have always led to other exhibitions at public galleries.
Soheila Esfahani is a visual artist and Assistant Professor at Western University. She is a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund. Her work has been exhibited across Canada and internationally including at the Aga Khan Museum, Canadian Cultural Centre Paris, Doris McCarthy Gallery, Cambridge Art Galleries among others, and collected by various public and private institutions, including the Canada Council’s Art Bank. Recently, Esfahani designed a coin for the Royal Canadian Mint’s Celebrating Canada’s Diversity Collection.
