RISE (Sandeep Johal x Sara Khan)
Evergreen Art Gallery | Coquitlam, British Columbia | Sept. 16 - Nov. 26, 2023

Shedding the weight of the recent past, Sandeep Johal and Sara Khan’s artistic collaboration gives rise to a playful and fantastical environment ruled by extraordinary creatures. The artists merge their distinct visual vocabulary of silhouettes,figures, geometric forms, floral patterns and rich colour palettes into new hybrid forms. Snakes, horned figures, animal-human hybrids and more inhabit the gallery in this weird and whimsical exhibition. This cast of characters draws on the strength of women, both real and imagined, to create an inviting yet surreal and energetic space where all are welcome. Johal and Khan are artists, friends and mothers making work together for the first time, finding comfort and community through this creative process. Together, their artworks celebrate the joy, power and complexities of womanhood from their perspectives as two South Asian women artists who are mothers to young children.

Text by Katherine Dennis
Photo credit: Rachel Topham Photography

I am not the serpent you know, Sandeep Johal and Sara Khan

Triumph of the tigress, Sara Khan (left)

Leopard games, Sandeep Johal (left) | Triumph of the tigress, Sara Khan (right)

Guardians, Sandeep Johal (left and right) | You and me, Sara Khan (centre)

Crocodile breath, Sara Khan (left) | Uterus woman, Sandeep Johal (right)

Guardians 1-24
Photo Credit: Shane O’Brien