Qiudian Wu, a fourth-year fine arts and anthropology student at St. Thomas University, is blending her majors together to create art.
Wu said combining her two fields help expand her frame of mind for both. She said they help her think and learn more about different regional art styles.
“Art from separate continents will reflect different peoples’ cultural backgrounds,” she said. “If I see a sculpture from South America, it definitely will have a different style compared to one from Asia.”
Anthropology is reflected in Wu’s artistic method including painting, sculpting and drawing since her favourite subjects are nature settings. This includes scenery like beaches, towering mountains and blooming flowers.
Wu’s art will be displayed at the Yellow Box Gallery along with other students’ artwork. The exhibition is available for viewing on the Exhibit App or the Yellow Box Art Gallery’s YouTube channel. Small groups of attendees can visit the gallery beginning March 16.
While she’s taking full advantage of the online resources for her final project, Wu said she misses in-person learning because of the opportunity of collaboration.
She expected her final year to be filled with anthropology courses. After getting rejected from the anthropology honours program, she decided to make her interest in fine arts a full-time major.
“Starting in primary school I really enjoyed visiting museums and galleries,” said Wu. “While I was in high school my teacher told me that the University of Toronto has a really good master’s program in museum studies.”
Alongside her own pieces, Wu invited fellow fine arts classmates to participate in her exhibit, all with varying techniques.
Manvi Walter, a second-year fine arts student at STU, said Wu’s exhibition allows her to showcase her work alongside other women with the same admiration of arts.
“I’ve come a long way from splashes of simple paints to creating portraits with intricate details and an emotion that drives my pieces,” said Walter. “I can’t wait for the show as it would be my first one here, and I’m sure it will be amazing.”
Kayla Lemay, a first-year fine arts student and contributor, also looks at the real world for inspiration.
“I adore the sea and I find the motion of water and flow of the environment helps me put those aspects into my work,” said Lemay. “Exhibits like these allow students to make connections with one another— getting to know more about the blooming artists to be found.”
