About
Henry Melissa Gordon (she/they) is a visual artist and educator, and a proud member of the LGBT2S+ community. Henry emigrated to Canada from South Africa as a child. Later she studied and worked in the UK for many years, then returned to Canada and graduated from the University of Waterloo MFA (Studio Art) program in 1999. Soon after that, she started a long journey of healing and self growth before returning to her art practice full-time six years ago. Henry worked for a dozen years as a workshop presenter and life coach at a retreat centre near Bancroft, Ontario and enjoys learning about peoples’ lives and perspectives. She has a deep interest in altered realities, and a love of the wilderness.
Henry currently lives in Guelph ON, on the traditional lands of the Attiwonderonk and Haudenosaunee, it is also the treaty land and territory of the Mississaugas of Credit First Nation. The city is beside the Haldimand Tract, and part of the traditional hunting grounds for the Six Nations of the Grand River. Henry gratefully acknowledges the rich history, culture, and on-going land stewardship of the Indigenous Peoples of Ontario and commits to actively learning and supporting Reconciliation. |
Artist Statement
I am interested in involving people in a collaborative creative journey. Asking others to participate helps to make my art projects richer and more meaningful. In past projects, I have made casts of people's navels, or invited student artists to make small multiple works that could be sold through a vending machine. More recently I have been interested in hearing about people's dreams, life stories, and perspectives.
Moving through the world as a LGBT2S+ person affects my artist’s journey, prompting me to ask different kinds of questions and look beneath the surface of things, trying to catch the mysterious flow of energy, whether I am focusing on the physical world or trying to catch the image of a dream or an intangible experience.
My current paintings explore dreams and visions; words and images are layered in a mystical way that allow multiple interpretations. Writing represents a unique way we humans communicate, and meanings can be simple, but it can also be so complex, hidden, or obscured; this truth drives the aesthetic in my paintings and drawings.
My upcoming art project, ‘Towards Reconciliation’ began when I participated in a 2 part exhibition called ‘Truth’ (featuring Algonquin artists) and ‘Reconciliation’ (featuring settler/newcomer artists who live on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquins), curated by artist/curators from the Algonquin Nation. With the support of a Cultural Mentor and input at various stages of the project from some members of the Kijicho Manito Madaouskarini Algonquin Nation, this project will be my focus over the next 18 months.
Art that inspires me often has a very personal quality and a feeling of being effortlessness, as if it just poured from the artist… like Hannah Hoch, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Annie Pootoogook, Tala Madani and Shary Boyle (amongst many favorites). Now I must get back to the studio…thanks for reading!
Moving through the world as a LGBT2S+ person affects my artist’s journey, prompting me to ask different kinds of questions and look beneath the surface of things, trying to catch the mysterious flow of energy, whether I am focusing on the physical world or trying to catch the image of a dream or an intangible experience.
My current paintings explore dreams and visions; words and images are layered in a mystical way that allow multiple interpretations. Writing represents a unique way we humans communicate, and meanings can be simple, but it can also be so complex, hidden, or obscured; this truth drives the aesthetic in my paintings and drawings.
My upcoming art project, ‘Towards Reconciliation’ began when I participated in a 2 part exhibition called ‘Truth’ (featuring Algonquin artists) and ‘Reconciliation’ (featuring settler/newcomer artists who live on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquins), curated by artist/curators from the Algonquin Nation. With the support of a Cultural Mentor and input at various stages of the project from some members of the Kijicho Manito Madaouskarini Algonquin Nation, this project will be my focus over the next 18 months.
Art that inspires me often has a very personal quality and a feeling of being effortlessness, as if it just poured from the artist… like Hannah Hoch, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Annie Pootoogook, Tala Madani and Shary Boyle (amongst many favorites). Now I must get back to the studio…thanks for reading!