Four years in the making, artist Pamela Masik has finally completed her 'Forgotten' Project, where she has painted the 69 faces of the Missing women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. On January 29th, for the first time, the project will be available for the public to view in her 14,000 sq ft studio. MOA, the Museum of Anthropology, is showing the collection in its entirety in February 2011. This is one you won't want to miss...
If you would like to attend this exclusive preview, email forgottenpreview@gmail.com. For more information, visit www.masik.ca.
It's been a four year project for Vancouver-based artist, Pamela Masik. Painting the faces of the 69 Missing Women from Vancouver's Eastside has proven to be a massive undertaking: emotionally, financially, physically and spiritually. Nearing completion, the collection has been picked up by a major public institution (which will be officially announced next week at the fundraiser).
Working alongside Pamela in the studio photographing the process has been an experience unto itself. Seeing the faces emerge from the canvases, their stories and their pain evident. It is a powerful feeling, working amongst the women as they follow you through the studio. At first, it is intimidating, but over the years, their faces become familiar, they become friends, and you see something other than just pain in their eyes. In Pamela's face, I see pain, too. I see exhaustion. I see her spirit waxing and waning like the moon. She pours herself into their stories, lending her own voice in their silence. When she finishes a portrait, I sense a completion within her, as if she herself has somehow been healed in the process. I also see worry about the project being misunderstood... her plight, her intentions. But like any artist, she knows that in putting it out there, she is at risk for speculation, misinterpretation, and judgement. She is driven to tell their story; theirs and millions of other women marginalized in societal structures, made dependent and disillusioned about their own power and self-worth.
In addition to the paintings, she has started an Arts Program for the Union Gospel Mission in the Downtown Eastside. This program is designed with the friends of 'The Forgotten' in mind.
At the fundraiser, Pamela will unveil 'Mona', the first from the Forgotten Series as well as showcase new paintings from the 'Prodigy Child' series as well as dreamy abstracts with 50% of the proceeds going towards the new Art Program.
If you are interested in attending the event, please rsvp to info.masik@gmail.com as there is limited capacity. 6-8pm. June 23rd, 2009. 32 Water Street, Gastown, Vancouver.
It’s been almost four years since she started this project; a large-scale, powerful series of portraits. There will be 69 portraits, the number of women from Vancouver’s downtown Eastside missing for more than a decade. It is by far the most intense and commanding project to date about these women. Vancouver artist, Pamela Masik, is taking the tiny faces off the missing poster and forcing us to see the sadness, anger and fear, painting each woman on an 8x10 canvas.
Many were First Nations people. Many had run from abusive relationships. They were drug addicts. They were prostitutes. But they were also mothers, friends, wives, sisters and daughters. Masik believes it is our collective responsibility to support and empower individuals at high risk, women marginalized in societal structures, made dependent and disillusioned about their own power and self-worth. It is easy to separate “us” from “them”, and hopefully Masik’s project will make us see their faces and hear their voices.
The targeted completion date for the project is September 2009.
