Kareem-Anthony Ferreira

KAREEM-ANTHONY FERREIRA
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1989

Kyle’s First Birthday
2023
Acrylic paint, paper collage, acrylic gel and brass grommets on canvas
184.5 x 232 cm

Purchase, the Museum Campaign 1998-2002 Fund

Born to immigrant parents from Trinidad, Kareem‑Anthony Ferreira draws his inspiration from photographs and family accounts to paint scenes of daily life. One distinctive aspect of his work is his pictorial surfaces: he cuts out or stencils motifs, such as fish, flowers and plants, that evoke North American stereotypes of the Caribbean, and with them creates a texture that then serves as the basis for a painted composition. The power of these paintings lies in the contrast between the clichés that form the backdrop and the honesty of the scenes and facial expressions, as the artist explores the out‑of‑sync mutual conceptions of his Canadian and Trinidadian cultural realities.

Kyle’s First Birthday is his first piece to enter the MMFA’s collection and indeed that of a Quebec museum. The composition is based on a photograph taken in Trinidad and Tobago in May 1987, one year before the family immigrated to Canada and two years before Kareem-Anthony was born. It shows the first birthday of his older brother being celebrated in his grandparents’ home. Kyle, in yellow, is surrounded by family members. Kareem-Anthony did not experience this event. The image is therefore an imaginary composition. To create it, he projected himself in that situation and then reappropriated it.