Curatorial Statement Proximal Collective
curated by Stacey Watson

 

Proximal Collective is the name of the the project that will address the utility boxes along the
7th Avenue corridor. It also refers to the eight artist group, previously known to each other and
intertwined through tattoo practice in geographical proximity of the Mohkinstsis/Calgary
downtown core. The artists are Kiarra Albina, Sofia Elidrissi, Geneva Haley, Ciara Havishya,
Taylor Hudson, Janeen Scott, Marlee Watts, and Sarah Ayaqi Whalen-Lunn. These artists are
also connected by shared values of responsibility to the work they do. To showcase the work
of tattoo artists in public art is to highlight their meaningful cultural contributions.

A large number of the citizens who live, work, or pass though the 7th Avenue corridor, by C-
train or on foot, will have tattoos that are visible or kept under clothing. The admiration and

collection of tattoos now crosses divisions of class, cultural heritage, and gender identity.
There is potential for the sharing of tattoo pieces to open dialogue, but there is also the
potential to perpetuate harm. To pose a question about a person’s tattoo is to wade into stories
of personal expression, lighthearted moments, cultural pride, transformative healing, and
memorials of loved ones. Inquiry can also evoke difficult emotions and unfortunately, in
outlying cases, reveal inappropriate and/or divisive imagery. The eight artists in this group
conduct careful reflection and commit to ongoing learning about the complexities of tattoo
work.
These artists also have profound testimonies from years of interactions with clients. Ciara
Havishya was a contributor to a book called Could This Be Magic? Tattooing as Liberation
Work (Santibañez,Tamara, Afterlife Press, 2021). This is a meaningful text for a number of
members of this group and helped inform the guiding principles of Hemlock studio, founded by
four of these artists. Still, the group agrees that the text deserves critical examination. Ciara
notes that the disproportionate expectations on marginalised communities to perform acts of
care in the tattoo process deserves attention. Tattoo work is not only technically difficult but
can exist in the realm of social work.
The artists’ treatment of the boxes extends from the visual language they have cultivated in
their tattoo portfolios. Tattoo artists can be business owners and to be successful means to
continually be generating imagery that fascinates and inspires potential clientele. They can also
be legacy carriers for their ancestors and transmitters of traditional symbolism. Sarah Ayaqi
Whalen-Lunn works outside the system of commercial studios, representing traditional Inuit
tattoo culture. This involves a much different approach to symbolism and exchange between
mark-maker and recipient. Sarah also travels to remote communities to bring practices closer
to their places of origin, opening up opportunities of connection and reconnection. She and the
others in this group have made work in other mediums that has been featured in galleries and
museums.
The challenge of taking on city infrastructure in a way that reaches passersby in a meaningful
way is well suited to this group of artists. The public will be able to enjoy the work of this
talented group, who represent years of investment cultivating visual languages of place,
identity and storytelling.