Artist Statement:

Finn Swanson-Bilyk is an interdisciplinary artist who considers herself a part time poet, drag artist, ceramicist, video editor, story weaver and photographer. For Finn, art is a language that transcends words and goes straight to ideas. Creating worlds to escape from the boring and cold Winnipeg winters. Her practice often involves poking around her brain for an idea to obsess over and try desperately to make into reality. Her work is about slowed down visual storytelling, poetry in solid form. She creates art about the body, sexuality, and subtle power structures using humour to soften them or make them more sensual. She is inspired by lyricists, poets and writers including but not limited to Octavia Butler, the Tragically Hip and Kai Cheng Thom. Most of Finn’s art needs some sort of physicality, she must throw clay, stand for hours in the dark room, prick her fingers with needles as she stitches. Her work requires a lot of herself, in the hopes that if she spends enough time beating and bruising it, it will grow some character. She asks the question: how can we be known through art?