Shoshanna Raquel

Inner Workings 

The subject matter of my works is dreamlike environments, symbolism, and exploration of the self and psyche. My emotions, environment, and the media I’m consuming during the time I’m creating impact my brushstrokes, thus playing into how the psyche influences the piece. The paintings are reflections of my experiences no matter the emotion. I am a strong believer that all emotions are important, even the not-so-fun ones; they are tools to help us explore who we are on the inside and how we truly feel about the world around us. I spent most of my adolescent years being numb due to depression, so now I embrace every emotion that comes to the surface. Feeling is completely freeing and can remind us that we are human and we are allowed to take up space in this world. There are often eyes in some form in most of my works because I believe our eyes hold the weight of our memories as well as holding words left unspoken at times. I am influenced by various artists such as Emily Carr, Vincent Van Gogh, René Magritte, Francis Bacon, and most commonly, Frida Kahlo. I would like viewers to grapple with the symbolism in my paintings and hopefully make those who resonate with my works feel less alone. I love that part of art where our own projections impact what stands out to us, and it will be different for everyone. I also hope that it might help others with their own self-reflection journey.

~Mentor: Robin Adair, CAAP Instructor

Shoshanna Raquel is a Canadian artist with Mexican roots. She was raised in Moosomin, Saskatchewan. In her early adult life, she lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Vancouver, British Columbia. She now resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The thing that always stuck out to her in her endeavours was the lovely people she met wherever she went. Though shy and generally keeping quiet in a corner, she couldn’t help but fall in love with the many different faces and personalities humanity has to offer. Each person was unique, yet all shared similar life experiences to some extent. Shoshanna has always been drawn to portraiture, even as a child. She started out just working with graphite, with the occasional painting here and there, but has now found a love for working with paint through her time at the Community Arts and Artisan Program in Saskatoon. She believes every work of art is more than a pretty picture and that her works tell a story of some sort if you are willing to sit with the piece. Shoshanna is always trying new ways to produce unique portraits, with no one being quite the same. The weirder the work, the better.