Phoenix Olivia

Artist Statement

Born in Guyana, South America and later moving to Canada as a child Phoenix Olivia is a multi media artist working in oil, acrylic, charcoal, spray-paint, photography and sound. 

Her work deals with themes of loneliness, the melancholy of urban isolation and the search for belonging. In Phoenix’s case, refuge or a sense of home has often been found through music and the subculture community of the electronic dance underground. A transient solace of connection found among strangers united through music in dreamy, dimly lit yet vibrant and alluring spaces.

Inspired by the aesthetics of Cyber Punk and Graffiti culture as well as the nightlife ambience of brilliant flashes of neon lights against the deep moody darks of these spaces, Phoenix’s paintings often reflect a world of dynamic colour and movement juxtaposed against a backdrop of desolate urban landscapes. 

Her work aims to create a sense of the hope and life found in music and the fringe subcultures of postmodern, alienated urban life.