Mythos: Showcasing works by Material Art & Design 2022 graduating students from OCAD University

May 27 – June 23, 2022

Please join us for an opening reception on Wednesday, June 15, 6 - 8 pm

The OCAD University’s Material Art and Design program is pleased to announce Mythos, an exhibition showcasing a selection of art and design works by 10 locally-based graduating students from the program in 2022. The works are on display in the Craft Ontario’s feature windows now until June 23.

Participating students are: Adrian Baduria; Kiana Chung; Aleena Derohanian; Termeh Ghazi; Kejia Gao; Jiali Li; Ekata Ma; Elva Ma; Mujun Ye; Garance Zhang; and Luofan Zhuang.

To see more works by the graduating students from the Material Art & Design program, including those outside Canada, please visit www.ocadumaadgrads.com and www.ocadu.ca/gradex2022.

Works on display include the following:

Adrian Baduria
Aphrodite XO, 2022

APHRODITE XO is a fashion collection based on Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. It incorporates the innovation of streetwear and classical techniques found in haute couture, resulting in an avant-garde interpretation of the Greek Goddess. The heroine wearing these designs is a woman that embraces her beauty, sexuality and dares to be different. On display is APHRODITE'S Armour, one of the six garments in the collection.

Materials and techniques: acrylic/cotton yarn; knitting

Kiana Chung
The Green House, 2022

My work centers around the idea of magical flora, created with wire crochet and basketry techniques. I hope to elicit a sense of whimsy, escapism and otherworldliness through colour, materiality, and delicacy. Material exploration in heat treatments and patinas created colours and textures on the copper, while the wire has been looped and molded into shape, to accomplish an effect of three dimensionality and liveliness.

Materials and techniques: crocheted and basket woven copper wire; acrylic rods; lights; ceramics; fake moss

Aleena Derohanian
Cows, Slime, Sublime, and Beyond, 2022

Cows, Slime, Sublime, and Beyond is a reflection on the repetitive nature of UFO sightings and alien abduction stories over the past 70 years. Saucers, lights, and bananas are story elements that bizarrely form a decades-long continuance through individual experiences with the other kind. The pieces on display are: Strange Ship Coming Soon to a Field Near You; Fasten Your Seatbelts, We’re Heading on an Adventure!; and S.S. Banana Express: Next Stop, Pound Town.

Materials and techniques: copper; sterling silver; brass; polyester resin; polyurethane resin; polyurethane foam; vinyl, acrylic; MDF

Termeh Ghazi
Knitting Memories Through Stitches, 2022

My memories of immigration have been knitted into wearable art pieces. Each stitch is a metaphor for my struggles, doubts, failures, and achievements I faced through my immigration. The piece on display represents my path from Tehran to Toronto and what I left behind in Iran. I consider my wearable art as a sensory platform for gathering my experiences and feelings and reshape them on the body.

Materials and techniques: 100% wool yarn; knitting

Kejia Gao
Dreams, 2022

Our dreams are a mapping of reality by our brains. When we dream, we are conscious but have low awareness. When we wake up from a dream, we often are disconnected from it. We dream based on our perceptions and experiences in real lives. The information stored in the brain during routine activities manifests itself in another form during sleep.

Materials and techniques: sterling silver; grey spinel; moissanite

Jiali Li
Imaginary Friends, 2022

Maybe everyone has friends, but not everyone has imaginary friends. Derived from questionnaires about what imaginary friends look like, their characteristics are extracted for designing this brooch collection that is divided into three parts, namely Bean Suit Man, The Mouse Did It and Soldier Duckling. This series of works aims to evoke the good memories of imaginary friends from people who have had them and to bring people to think and discuss imaginary friends.



Ekata Ma
Playground of Grief, 2022

This is a journey alongside the maker to deconstruct and reconstruct the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. Grief in losing someone or some relationships has always been planted in our heart like seeds, and walking through it once again in the iteration through the lens of playground children loves to be in, helps viewers to understand what one might or is going through, and reminding not to neglect it and support them in all circumstances. On display are: Denial, Bargaining, and Acceptance.

Materials and techniques: sterling silver; nickel; 3D-modelled; cast; hand-fabricated; bead-set; tube-set; claw-set; cubic zirconia

Elva Ma
Body, Metal, and Space, 2022

This collection is an exploration of a balance between architecture and jewellery. It is my personal interpretation of Hadid's architectural philosophy and the fusion of architectural beauty and jewellery aesthetics. Metal and skin, the human body and jewellery, are like people and architecture; the space they touch or retain expresses the connection people have with objects and space.

Materials and techniques: sterling silver; rhodium plated copper; hand fabricated

Mujun Ye
Balance between Human and Nature, 2022

I was inspired by the traditional Chinese religion, Taoism. Yin and Yang is a very well-known symbol seen in many Chinese and some Asian cultural works. It is an abstract concept that gives the most intuitive feeling of balance, not only balance between people, but also that between people and everything in the world. In my view, humans should exist in balance with themselves and their natural surroundings.

Materials and techniques: cotton and wool yarns; naturally dyed cotton yarns; canvas; acrylic mirror; tufting; sewing

Garance Zhang
The Art of Knot, 2022

The knot simultaneously bears spiritual meanings and practical values as a unique yet common object. It is usually considered a symbol of bonding and connection, connecting people's personal history to the spiritual world. Overall, I would like to convey my own experience with the knot’s spiritual protecting function and share my interest in its cultural significance.

Materials and techniques: sterling silver; cord; fabricating; soldering; knotting; twisting

Luofan Zhuang
The Marble Maze Game, 2022

The marble maze game is an unforgettable game in the memory of my childhood. This series aims to create playfulness and interactivity to the wearer who can relax when “playing” with their jewellery. Different internal mazes and multiple external designs jointly make the whole series full of unity and enjoyment. The alternating use of silver and bronze, and the use of colourful synthetic zircon beads not only add variety to the design but also reflect my childlike innocence.

Materials and techniques: casting; silver; bronze; round magnets; synthetic zircon beads; snake chain

Thesis advisors: Nithikul Nimkulrat and Ken Vickerson
Exhibition curated and installed by Nithikul Nimkulrat, Annie Tung and Aleena Derohanian