Virtual Vertigo: Exhibition

April 28 – May 4, 2023
Opening reception: Friday April 28 | 7-9PM

Multimedia undergraduate students enrolled in MMEDIA 4ST6 (Senior Thesis Research and Production) are presenting their final research-creation projects in an exhibition titled Virtual Vertigo.

MMEDIA 4ST6 offers fourth year Media Art students the opportunity to develop their own capstone media projects. The final projects are a culmination of research, development, and creation using skills learned in the Media Art program at McMaster University. The exhibit seeks to create dialogue around the ever expanding digital and virtual world through mix media and mediums.

Exhibiting Artists:
Yakari Alfaro-Laganse, Haley Birch, Tristan Branda, Reese Crev, Emelia Da Silva, Jason Do, Amy Huang, Anthony Jones, Robert Li, Alec Mackinnon, Zee Malvern, Travis Nguyen, Naomi Redwood, Maya Ventresca

Advisors: Andrew Mactavish, Robert Hamilton, and Paula Gardner

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About the Artists:

Yakari Alfaro-Laganse
All You Got

The goal for All You Got is to create a digital space that encourages creativity through observation, imitation and imposed restrictions. Skill gap between experienced and non- experienced drawers would be decreased by giving them the same restrictive tool set. The art styles the participants are limited to is contour and pointillism (pixel art). This is to help break down the individual aspects of the overall piece easier.

My name is Yakari Alfaro- Laganse, I am double majoring in media art, and theatre and film in McMaster. My practice involves drawing, animation and (very minor) game design.

Haley Birch
I Never Learned Analogue

I Never Learned Analogue is an installation that was born out of a trip to New York City. On this trip, I found myself overwhelmed, not by the visual stimuli of the city, but by a simple piece of plywood found on the street. As an artist, I became acutely aware of the existing limitations within digital art, and how they affect my ability to capture the true essence of this experience. I wanted to create something that would allow people to connect with the authenticity and raw edges of the piece, without relying on digital media. I Never Learned Analogue is a response to this challenge. It is centered around the painting, later named The Two Ladies, consisting of two large-scale images of people, each adorned with a mix of materials and textures. The piece is positioned in a way that allows the audience to meet the ladies exactly where I did, experiencing the different perspectives and emotions they evoke. Scattered with them is a remediated version of the piece, disguised as another, mere piece of garbage found throughout the city. I hope to prompt conscious reflection with this installation, specifically upon our relationship with visual culture. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with images and messages, it can be difficult to discern what is meaningful or valuable. The Two Ladies invites the audience to confront their own feelings about this reality, without necessarily favouring one perspective over another. Ultimately, my goal as an artist is to create space for dialogue and reflection, one in which
people can engage with the precious piece of plywood transformed into something irreplaceable; something worth traveling across borders for. I Never Learned Analogue is an invitation to meet The Two Ladies where they were, and confront the complexities of our ever-expanding digital and visual world.

Tristan Branda
The Life of Draco Jones

The Life of Draco Jones is a story about a dragon explorer originally written and drawn by the author when he was 10. Twelve years later, this story is now recreated with Blender 3D images and Photoshop to construct a captivating world of wonder. Translated from Spanish to English, the book takes the reader on a journey of discovery and adventure, filled with vibrant colors and stunningly detailed illustrations that bring the characters and their environments to life.

My name is Tristan, and I am a Media Arts student at McMaster University. I began my media journey at McMaster in 2019, where I found a passion for multimedia, and have been improving my skills since then with every new project I make, whether it be in class or on my own time. My most used programs include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Blender. However, I have also extensively used Adobe Illustrator, Adobe AfterEffects and Reaper. I always find myself working on some new project which may push my knowledge of a subject or program, and am excited to find a career which will allow me to keep going beyond my limits to discover and create something special.

Reece Crev (Producer)
Travis Nguyen (Director, producer, writer)
Portrait of a Poppy

Portrait of a Poppy is a short film that explores love, grief, and the moral dilemma of letting go. It follows an intertwining story of a married couple who are struggling to hang onto their relationship after being separated by a coma. Initially written as a short with a single character to express self solitude during the quarantine, the story slowly grew into a love story as Travis started revisiting the script and incorporated his experience with romance and relationships. The film aims to give the audience a different angle on love, at the same time shed light on relationships that are affected by medical conditions, in this case, brain injury. 

Travis Nguyen is a filmmaker who hasn’t seen Jaws. He has too many interests to keep up with and filmmaking seems to be the perfect vessle for all of his passions. Travis’ works are often introspective as he uses the mediums to reflect and express himself. Travis wants a lot of things, like to make films and to be the first Vietnamese director to receive an Oscar nomination. Yeah, he’d be happy with just a nomination. Travis aims for his work to explore humanity through themes such as love and identity in hope of connecting people via storytelling and moving pictures. 

Emelia Da Silva
A Home Made of Flowers

90% of Portuguese immigration to America and Canada has come from the Azores Islands. Due to the pressures of assimilation faced by Azorean immigrants, many Azorean-Canadians do not practise their own culture. A Home Made of Flowers is an illustrated children’s storybook based on the Azores Islands’ creation story called The Islands of Flowers. A Home Made of Flowers seeks to document and pass down Azorean folklore to the next generations so that it is not forgotten. Watercolour was used to create illustrations that intentionally imitate Azulejos, blue and white coloured tile art. While the text was included in both Portuguese and English to serve as a resource for language learning and connect Azorean elders to Azorean children. A Home Made of Flowers seeks to close the gap and facilitate cross-generational conversations about Azorean culture, history, and identity.

Emelia Da Silva (she/her) is a queer interdisciplinary artist located on the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Mississaugas. As a first and second-generation Canadian Emelia Da Silva grew up in a family that worked to both preserve and celebrate their Azorean culture which allowed her to build strong ties to her Azorean identity and community. Through conversations with her family and other first and second-generation Azorean-Canadians, she has become interested in understanding the Azorean identity. As someone who is Azorean by DNA but was not born in the Azores, this places her in a position where she is both an insider and an outsider. Her work explores this intersection with a focus on the recovery and preservation of culture, history, and identity. As she draws from her own lived experiences her art is constantly changing as she experiments with various mediums and methods of creation.

Jason Do
Rose

“You shouldn’t look back unless it is to see how far you have come.”

Jason Do, 21, Male, He/Him/His. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario Jason utilizes his art to articulate his feelings through both sound and imagery. Fitting in and conforming to the normalities of society is a common theme for Jason seen both in his art and his life. Being raised by his Vietnamese immigrant parents Jason has learned the balance between his culture and nationality. Amongst this, being the first openly homosexual male in his family has taught Jason what it means to be different and accepted. These attributes are translated to Jason’s pieces as he often explores multiple mediums and art styles.

Amy Huang
Evolution of Motion Graphics

A brief look at the evolution of motion graphics from the 1870s to the present, using motion graphics.

Born in Boston, MA, and raised in Halifax, NS, Amy began teaching herself video editing and motion graphics at the ripe old age of 14. Now 22 going on 23, she is pleased to say that the last 8-9 years indulging this hobby have come in handy for something: her Bachelor’s degree. In her free time, she enjoys piano and creative writing, and she’ll be moving onto the world of law, where perhaps her knowledge of Adobe After Effects may come in handy at the most unexpected of times…

Anthony Clifford Jones
Chronically Chill; The uninspiring legacy of a disabled scam artist

Often disabled stories become reduced to inspration porn for the non-disabled, or it’s downright depressing. Packed full Ferris Beullerian anecdotes and stories, this book is a retelling of my journey as a storyteller, social manipulator, and how easy it is for disabled stories to be something more honest and impactful.

Anthony Clifford Jones is a photographer, media designer, and disabled storyteller. Being raised with chronic illness and visibly disabled from a young age, throughout my life I have been blessed to experience countless medical trials and tribulations. I call myself blessed because this history informed my perspective on stories themselves, and it certainly helped make my perspective stand out. Through my media work I try to uplift those I photograph at every opportunity, and I love showcasing stories of those that just need a little help bringing it to life.

Robert Li
Colour: A Long Walk of Canada

“What is the essence of photography? 

Apart from the additional meaning, only composition and colour combination remain. 

This is the beauty in my eyes, the colour in my world, and to you, the Canada I have walked through.”

Born and raised in western China, Robert Li is an artist who specializes in black and white photography. His work features colour emphasis in black and white photographs as well as vivid colour photographs. His father inspired his love of photography at an early age. During his teenage years, Li worked as a camera assistant in the film and television industry, where he began to explore his love for the art of photography and gradually delved deeper into it.He is currently studying multimedia at McMaster University and is expected to graduate in 2023. In addition to his expertise in photography, he is also the co-founder of Sesame Inc.

Alec Mackinnon
The future is now, but honestly that’s a bit too soon

I created this as an outlet to express the anxiety and I was feeling over graduating and entering a “real adult life”.

Alec Mackinnon is a Toronto born artist (although he’d deny that title if you asked him). With a great sense of humour (he’d confirm that title if you asked him), and a love of postmodern media, he hopes to bring a smile to any who engage with his work. His past works have experimented with audio, video, and photography, but he has a certain jack-of-all-trades quality that most find charming. 

Zee Malvern
Borderline Crazy

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is known to be “the worst mental illness.” 1 in every 10 will take their own life, 50% have impaired employability, they take up 20% of psychiatric units and 17% of prisons, 38% have substance abuse issues, 85% self-injure, and 38% are perscribed three or more medications. It’s estimated 1.6% of the population has BPD and yet this disorder is stigmatized, silenced, and known as a death sentence. People diagnosed with BPD suffer malpractice from medical personale who can refuse to treat them. In this short documentary we hear commentary on the nine diagnostic criteria for BPD from four people diagnosed with the disorder. 

The director of this short documentary is diagnosed with BPD himself. Zee has been at McMaster University for about eight years doing a Multimedia, Film & Theatre degree part-time. Zee lost eight years of his life to the mental health system after being committed to an institution at thirteen years old. Because of this he dedicates his life to advocating for better mental health care through providing an artistic platform for people to tell their stories with an emphasis on intersectionality and social justice. 

Naomi Redwood
Brand Book – The McMaster Fashion Society

A branding book that explores what a potential design and advertising scheme could look like for a McMaster supported fashion club. My work explores what could be a basis for a potential club at McMaster University titled The McMaster Fashion Society. McMaster has a vibrant and passionate arts community yet the representation within the supported clubs is hugely lacking. This piece is a little love letter to what could be.

My name is Naomi Redwood and I am a 4th year Media Arts student with a specialized minor in Commerce.

Maya Ventresca
Fashion, Sustainability, Balance

A digital magazine that explores sustainable fashion and digital design, seeking to uncover whether or not we can truly achieve a balance between the fashion industry and environmental well-being, through dynamic design and aesthetics.

My name is Maya, and I’m a graduating Communications and Media Arts student at McMaster University. Passionate about anything pretty – fashion, art, music, and film – I dabble in up-cycling and design. I love to do, make, and be a part of things that are important to me.

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This program is presented in partnership with the McMaster University Media Art department.