Maggy Hamel-Metsos (BFA 2021), a recent graduate of Concordia’s Department of Studio Arts, is Quebec’s regional winner of the 19th annual BMO 1st Art! Competition.
The jury chose 13 artists from a record 336 submissions to the competition. Anna Kuelken from NSCAD University won the national cash prize of $15,000. Hamel-Metsos and the other 11 regional winners each took home $7,500.
“Part of it is luck and part of it is hard work. But I don’t wait on luck — I work very hard and I don’t expect anything in return,” Hamel-Metsos says. “When validation like this comes around, it feels really good to see that the art I make resonates with others.”
Her original work, entitled “No Place to Stand,” explores how important private and public spaces revealed themselves to be throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During COVID, it became a burden to stay inside. The interiors of houses — and other spaces — appeared more and more like barricades. I often have a push and pull situation towards the themes showing up in my work, which might just be the aesthetic motivation I need,” Hamel-Metsos explains.
“I always go toward things I hate and love at the same time. I hate drapery — I think it’s sort of kitsch, but I saw its potential. Drapery became more about an apparatus, a system of hiding and revealing, addressing notions of accessibility, mobility and transparency.”
Aside from the drapes, there are no recognizable symbols or iconography, she adds. “So there is space for people to project onto the work. It’s not about me; it’s about an apparatus.”
