Leeay
Aikawa
โSpanning a vast array of media, my current focus is investigating the ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ between 'making,' 'knowing,' and 'being' with a strong emphasis on the process of โbecoming.โ I employ methodologies such as collage, collecting, painting, non-linear narrative, improvisation, from an ecological spiritualist framework to approach oneness in an increasingly harsh world.With my repeated mantra ๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ต๐๐ = ๐ฏ๐๐, I attempt to be in touch with the moments of the divine and the living spirit of the Earth through making. Such an inquiry emerges from my background as a yogi/ yoga instructor. My thesis ๐(๐๐ฎ)๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ค โ๐ โ is a season-based investigation that blends my artistic practice and spiritual practice to explore what it means to be authentic in our time.โ
Leeay Aikawa is a Japanese artist based in Toronto, a recent graduate of the Interdisciplinary Masterโs in Art, Media, and Design program at OCAD University (MFA 2021). She obtained her BDes in Illustration major from OCAD University in 2009 and has worked as both an illustrator and as a graphic designer for over 10 years with clients such as New York Times, Vogue Japan, The Walrus, The Pen, The Atlantic, to name a few. She was hosted by Paradise Air (Matsudo, Japan) in 2019 as an artist in residence and selected by MOCA for their Mentorship Program in 2020.
OCAD U - Graduate Studies
Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design (MA, MDes and MFA)
Major In progress, 2021
OCAD University
Illustration
Major Completed, 2009
George Brown College
Foundation Design
Major Completed, 2004
Collage Earth-based Studio Practice Yogic philosophy Buddhism Eastern Philosophy Spiritual Ecology Painting Illustration Design Mixed Media Zen Buddhist Psychology Collection-based presentation Non-linear Experimental Improvisation