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<\/a>Indipractises <\/em>poster.<\/p>\nCreating an actual community\u00a0is\u00a0the message I get from the Indipractices Collective, a group of artists\u00a0brought together by artist and curator Jacob Brown. Indipractices started with a group of 11 artists, mostly recent grads from Sheridan College, and has recently spanned to 17 members. Talking with some of these artists, it\u2019s quite evident that the collective places importance on a communal state-of-mind, with the goal being an ever-expanding network that goes beyond social media communication onto face-to-face interactions within the art industry. I\u2019m getting the impression, especially with this current exhibition, that many of them shift their gears away from obsessive consumerist culture. In Smaller Is Better<\/em>, all of the artwork was made accessible by being more affordable, which is especially appealing to the younger demographic of art enthusiasts. There were also zines and t-shirts for sale at the front desk.\u00a0Indipractices Collective is like a peaceful brigade of anti-consumerists, which is interesting, and might also be the reason behind their name.<\/p>\n The other, possibly bigger, intention of this exhibit was to have the collective work within a smaller scale of dimensions than they are used to; although a few of them do work in a smaller scale, like Elizaveta Semechko, who displayed her paintings Burst 1<\/em> & Burst 3<\/em>. These pieces are inspired by the famous novel Slaughterhouse Five<\/em> by Kurt Vonnegut. Semechko\u2019s brother, a scientist, suggested her to work with supernovas for these\u00a0series of explosions and this was her first go at it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Kylie Chadwick, another exhibiting artists, is the opposite of Semechko in the sense that she normally works with larger pieces: she creates mixed-media work with many layers and details. This show was a challenge for her, because it pushed her to express herself with less layers, with the end result that is more bold and less subdued, as\u00a0Chadwick says. Her watercolour painting entitled, Hold Your Own Damn Hand <\/em>stands out with it\u2019s bold colors\u00a0and its message as\u00a0well. The statement is clearly a wake-up call to claim your independence. Chadwick was inspired by a public message she saw, and it read: \u201cHold your own hand\u201d.\u00a0It spoke\u00a0about\u00a0independence and self-sufficiency, two\u00a0important factors for her.<\/p>\n Next to\u00a0Chadwick Daniel Deus showcased two different series of painting. One of them is entitled, The People Watcher, <\/em>where he depicts photos taken from his cellphone that were not intentionally meant to be taken as portraits. The other series are portraits with solid background color, with the figures each having a brownish tone.<\/p>\n My favourite pieces of the\u00a0show were Nathan Galbraith\u2019s. His style reminds me of underground art culture, and it just so happens that Galbraith is inspired by graffiti, surrealism, and toy art. In one of his pieces, Thank God for capitalism<\/em>, he drew his own version of Hello Kitty<\/em> \u2014 or as he likes to call her \u201cmoney cat\u201d. It\u2019s a commentary against the overhyped popularity of this pop culture icon, overused for the simple sake of selling a product. We moved onto talking about his other series, How I Killed a Few Kings<\/em>: suicidal stories of similar-looking characters he calls kings, which don\u2019t necessarily have intricate meanings behind them, but hold intense melancholic auras nonetheless.<\/p>\n<\/a>Elizaveta Semechko, Burst 1<\/em>, 2014,\u00a0ink and acrylic paint, 12 x 12 inches.<\/p>\n<\/a>Kylie Chadwick, Hold Your Own Damn Hand<\/em>, 2014, acrylic ink on watercolour paper, 10 x 12 inches.<\/p>\n<\/a>Daniel Deus, People Watcher #1<\/em>,\u00a0 2014, acrylic on wood, 14 x 11 inches.<\/p>\n