Artist Statement

I’ve always been curious about how our identities are informed by our memories, and how our memories are so heavily informed by photography, particularly family photography. In many cases, and in mine, family memoirs and legacies are told mainly though photographic record. My work draws from a large multi-generational family archive and considers the intersection of photography and memory, and the inextricable relationship between photography and painting. Through these photographic records I explore the spaces in between my personal memory, collective recollection, and ideologies about myself, my life and my family, within the larger context of capitalism. My paintings articulate the longing and stillness of memory with stories about class, desire, loss, womanhood and self.

Bio

Erin Breau-Barkley is a Canadian artist and mother. She studied Fine Art at OCAD University (1998) followed by Design at Centennial College (2003) and NSCAD University (2007). Erin exhibited her first solo show in 2024 and continues to exhibit her work throughout Canada. Her work has been generously supported by both Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Art Council. Erin is also a a non-profit governance professional, writer and social justice advocate with a particular focus on gender equity. She lives, works and plays on the territories of the Wendat, Anishinabek Nation, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations, Tkaronto (Toronto), Ontario with her two daughters and fellow artist-parent, Samuel Choisy.