Bio
Billie MacFarland (b. 1993) is a material-focused visual artist based in Toronto. Their paintings on unprimed canvas transform ordinary moments into emotionally potent narratives. Their drive to make art comes from a desire to build meaningful connections with others.
Artist Statement
I look for importance and significance in brief moments and small movements. The way that we carry our bodies can signify a lot, and it's both readable and indecipherable at the same time. I want to draw the viewer's eye to the language of the body, which is something I've spent a lot of my life trying to interpret.
Many of the images I paint are taken from strangers' family photographs. These moments feel familiar, but really they're not – it’s not my family, it’s not my real life. I wasn’t there, but when I look at these photos, seemingly inconsequential details will grab me and make me feel like I was there. That sensation of uncanny familiarity is what I’m trying to capture in my work.
Cipher is part of a series I completed earlier this year focused on memory and nostalgia. For me, I don’t yearn for the past, but I’m curious to understand it. It’s not that the past was better; it’s that the past still feels like it’s full of secrets. That’s the allure of it.
