Omar Chris Canales-Cisneros (Barrie, ON)
Olga…Olga…Omar, 2024. Ashes and oil on Salvadorian textile. 77 x 60”.
Bio
Omar Chris Canales-Cisneros is an artist of Salvadorian descent. He graduated with distinctions from OCAD U in May 2023, majoring in drawing and painting with a minor in sculpture and installation. He was the recipient of both the Mrs. W.O. Forsyth Award and the Urquhart Memorial Scholarship. He has Exhibited at TOAF, the art gallery of Mississauga, and the billboards of Dundas Square. As a transman, his work explores identity through heritage, sexuality, and gender. Implementing the artistic methodology of decreation he burns materials that are representative of prejudicial ideologies and incorporating the resulting ashes as pigment for hand-mulled oil paint. His most recent work combines this technique with canvases fabricated from Salvadorian textiles, dissecting themes of family dynamics in relation to his identity and has translucent elements to allow the textiles to come through, allowing their vibrancy to contrast the somber monochromatic palette of the ash paint.
Artist Statement
This body of work explores themes of gathering and familial bonds, with particular emphasis on the significance of shared spaces and traditions. The ashes used in this series were sourced from the family fire pit a place of communal gathering— adding a layer of meaning derived from the setting itself. It depicts three generations are connected through the intimate act of braiding each other's hair. This tradition is one I felt I had undermined during my transition. I had distanced myself from many aspects of my heritage, struggling to reconcile the values tied to it with my experience of gender and identity. In cutting my hair for gender-affirming reasons, I believed I was severing ties with a practice that had long been a symbol of connection to my family and culture.
This painting, therefore, functions as an act of reconciliation, a re-engagement with cultural practices. The title, Olga…Olga…Omar, encapsulates this reclamation. It references a name I once sought to distance myself from; Repeating the name twice, to honor the women who came before me. The name "Omar" follows as the name I have chosen to carry forward, transforming and deepening my respect for the cultural lineage that it represents.