At long last I have a chance to sit down and talk with Vancouver-based artist, Sara Khan! Sara is an artist working across many mediums, but mainly using water-based media to create large scale works on paper, though we find time to discuss how a recent collaboration with Sandeep Johal resulted in explorations in fiber, mural-making, and even ceramics.
Sara grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and then moved to Vancouver with her husband. We discuss the cultural differences in the two places, and the feeling of being in two places at once that Sara describes so beautifully as both having pros and cons. As a child growing up in Lahore, Sara would turn nightmares into funny stories to make them less scary, which she continues to do in some ways in her art practice by putting down onto paper her personal struggles or things she finds worrisome in world news. The works feature human/animal hybrids and atmospheres that are simultaneously alluring and unsettling – a gray area that Sara finds very compelling as it reflects the reality of reconciling complex experiences.
Sara lives in Vancouver with her husband and two children, and embraces a slow process of making that accompanies life with small children.
Final Five:
Biggest Art Crush: Hayao Miyazaki
Dream Trip: A hot beach near the equator
Book or Film: Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Favorite meal: Polao
Shoutout: Husband
To see more of Sara’s work visit her website and please follow them on IG @mindforking
The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @kaylanbuteyn
Katherine Dennis (the curator at Art Gallery at Evergreen) , Sara, Sandeep and Anna Luth (Assistant Art curator).jpg
Mugshot on a Platter, ceramic, around 6″ by 6″,2023.
Renegade Mothers: Crocodile Breath, fabric, thread, buttons, fabric glue, 3ft by 9f, 2023.