Kay Slater

photo of kay, in a yellow coat, posing in front of artwork in a gallery
Image Description: Person (Kay) wearing a yellow raincoat stands in front of a white gallery wall on which 3 works of art are displayed. Photo credit: Tom Quirk, 2018

Instagram: @kdotca
Unceded Coast Salish MST Territory/Vancouver
Collective Member.

Artist Statement

“I like to explore concepts of worth using unconventional materials and by questioning traditional display and exhibition standards – especially through a lens focused on accessibility. I obsessively archive my process and am constantly working to embrace mistakes. I build workshops and host events that help participants value (and delight in) the act of making which ultimately reduces the pressure people feel to create a finished, perfect product.”

Kay Slater, 2019

Bio

Kay Slater is a multidisciplinary artist. An illustrator, preparator, arts worker, and creative problem solver, their artistic practice explores value as it relates to experience and expectations.

Kay is committed to expanding art making opportunities where both verbal and non-verbal communication is used and where no one is ever turned away for lack of skill or understanding. Kay is hard of hearing, and hopes you’ll face them or use captions online when communicating. They subscribe to the philosophy of the New Sincerity which strives to “be more awesome”.

Kay uses fluid pronouns in person, and They/Them/Theirs exclusively online.

They have a European settler heritage and are currently living and working as an uninvited guest on the lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm ( Musqueam ), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh ( Squamish ) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ ( Tsleil-Waututh ) peoples. Their professional practice involves showing work on stolen territory and they are currently engaged in conversation and self-examination on what it means to gain a living by taking up space on occupied territory to be talking about, transporting, and showing work made on similarly occupied, or stolen land. What does it mean to respect the land, its stewards, its history, and its present, and perpetuate Eurocentric, and colonial systems for profit on stolen land? How do you work within this hypocrisy and build trust, knowledge, and, perhaps eventually, respect?

Visual description:

Kay is a white, middle aged person with greying shoulder length hair. They have shaved sides and often wear their messy salt and pepper coloured hair up and away from their face. They have brown eyes, a double-pierced nose and lip on opposing sides, and large rosy cheeks. They have a large smile that crinkles the corner of their eyes and exposes slightly yellowish teeth.

The Papercut Arcade Projects:

  • a sōzu year
    short video and animated gif, – It’s a Date, Feb 26 2022
  • Chew, Lens Flare, Rain, Ritual, and Plenty.
    Photography, Mouth Shapes, F l a i r, Puddle Break, Tweezers, and Unnecessary Plenty – Selfie Series 4, Dec 2021
  • Selfie Series #4
    Open Call for Submissions for November 30th, 2021.
  • Looking For a Clue as to Why…
    Short Film, Haven’t Got a Clue – Game Remix: Clue, July 2021
  • Ending Bravery 2.0
    Twine Narrative Experiment (continues), Blackout: An Interactive Adventure Salon, May 2021
  • The Cosmologist’s Portfolio
    Photography by Kay Slater, Posthuman Romantics, February 2021
  • Brambles and Spores
    Board Game by Kay Slater, Posthuman Romantics, February 2021
  • The Missing Socks
    An art show & salon by curator Kay Slater. September 23rd, 2022.
  • Human, English, Romantic, Poetry
    Video Presentation by Kay Slater, Post-Human Romantics, Dec 2020
  • Picky Eater
    Short Video by Kay Slater, Jabblescram: Game Remix, July 2020
  • Ending Bravery
    Twine Narrative Experiment, Apocalypse: An Interactive Adventure Salon, May 2020
  • Eat the Privileged
    Performance, Inedible Cakes, February 2020
  • The Sound of Cake
    Illustration, Inedible Cakes, February 2020
  • Zero Sugar
    Sculpture, Inedible Cakes, February 2020
  • Inedible Cakes, an essay
    Exhibition Booklet Essay, Inedible Cakes, February 2020
  • Inedible Cakes
    An art show & salon by curator Kay Slater. February 23rd, 2020.
  • MermInsta II: The Purple Path
    Twine Story Narrative Experiment, Home: An Interactive Adventure Salon, November 2019
  • The Great Selfie Battle #3
    November 23rd 2019 Gallery below. Collective Photo Challenge: Self portrait snapshots on a theme. Embrace the selfie. Featuring photography by: Louise Chow, Christopher Alan Slater, Kay Slater. The self portrait, a portrait of an artist produced or created by that artist*, has a long and noble tradition. The selfie however is often associated with low […]
  • MermInsta
    Instagram Story Narrative Experiment, Hungry: An Interactive Adventure Salon, June 2019