Artist Category: Adult 19+

Biography

I am currently an outreach worker and youth worker while going to school. I’ve been working in the social work field for about five years now, and I’ve had the chance to see the many perspectives you might come across. That being said, art was a great way for me to get back in touch with myself for therapeutic purposes. This is something I have been doing for the last three years now, and it has been helpful to express my experiences through art that can be meaningful and relatable to others.

Artist Statement

My artwork reflects on anti-racism. The work itself shows my experiences, comments or views I have come across in terms of what white co-workers, knowingly, or unknowingly have said to me in the social work field. There has been a lot of ignorance about Asian minority groups that access social services. Since I am Punjabi, I reflected on my own experiences as they are the most familiar to me. I have witnessed other youths who come from the same cultural and ethnic background be criminalized when accessing services to deal with trauma or escape gang violence. White youths have come in and accessed these centres for the same reasons but have been subject to less criminalization by staff. To share this message, I showed youths who are trying to hide their emotions with smiles. The newspaper layout is meant to show white social workers’ accounts of what they believe to be true. It is very straight-forward and not soft in its delivery, but I think it’s a good way to start a conversation about how we view trauma in non-white communities.

Instagram: @sanjeet_paints

back to exhibition page