MUNTHE ART MONDAY: CANAL CHEONG JAGERROOS

Instagram: @canal.cheong.jagerroos
Website: www.canalcheongjagerroos.com

Please introduce yourself and tell us about what you do.

My name is CANAL CHEONG JAGERROOS, I am a Chinese contemporary visual artist who grew up in an artistic family in Macau. I currently live and work in Helsinki, Shanghai, Nice and Berlin.

In the past 30 years, I have lived and worked in 7 countries from Asia to Europe and Africa. Whether consciously or subconsciously, the unique experience of having lived in such culturally diverse places has influenced my artwork greatly. I have discovered that walking the line between the east and west, facing different cultures, can be both constructive and destructive, but always inspirational.

I am well acquainted with the context of both Eastern and Western art. In my artwork, I rebuild the language, signs, and symbols. I incorporate motifs with a variety of mediums including oil paints, acrylics, rice paper, pigment, and mixed media. These motifs often serve as gateways to other worlds or realms of consciousness, hinting at the possibilities of the imagination, where I embark on a journey of introspection, provoking thought, and reflection on various aspects of life, identity, and the human experience.

Could you explain more about how being a woman has affected your career?

I only see myself as an artist and being a male or female doesn’t affect my creative path. For me, it is important to embark on a remarkable journey, an odyssey of self-discovery and exploration. It is an immersion into a realm where ideas and emotions intertwine, giving birth to creations that transcend the confines of our everyday existence.

Can you name some other female (artist) that inspires you and explain why they do so?

I find Yayoi Kusama and her avant-garde installations and her exploration of infinity themes very inspiring. Other female artists such as Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin and Marina Abramović, I especially like Tracy Emin’s work which is embracing a full of raw emotion and vulnerability of the human experience.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being a female artist?

Maybe one of the most persistent challenges for female artists is the existence of deep-rooted gender bias within the art industry. Historically, women artists were often marginalized, their works overlooked or dismissed.

What would you like people to notice in your artwork?

Personally, it is important for me that my painting speaks for itself. I hope to open a window or a new door to the audience to navigate a new prospective in their life journey.

Canal is wearing our GRANOLIA jacket and GALVINA pants.