Miriam El Abbassi | Arts Editor
Featured Image: Serena Kobayashi-LeBel working on “Don’t Judge A Book…”, oil on canvas. | Courtesy of Serena Kobayashi-LeBel
Serena Kobayashi-LeBel is a fifth-year visual arts student, whose work primarily focuses on surrealist imagery. She has also had one solo show at York, Human; Nature, which provided a spotlight for this kind of work. At an early age, Kobayashi-LeBel describes her how her initial interest in art came to be.
“I’ve always been a very artistic kid. I did a lot of painting when I was younger, but I guess I kind of realized I really wanted to commit to the arts around Grade 7 or Grade 8. I really wanted to break away and do my own thing, and redefine myself as a person,” she says. She also describes how art is, and always will be, a part of her.
Kobayashi-LeBel then goes into various themes that permeate her work, “The body is something that I’ve always worked with. It has always been the female figure since that’s really what I connect most with. I like using a lot of symbolism and digging deep into the meanings of things and twisting it.”
Besides the female figure, Kobayashi-LeBel describes how the theme of nature is something that reoccurs in her work. This is evidently displayed in her most recent exhibition, in which the female form is reinterpreted with different animalistic/non-human elements.
As an artist, there are undoubtedly challenges that one may face by being in such a creative field. Kobayashi-LeBel identifies the privilege she holds in various aspects, and tries to be hyper-conscious of the kind of work she puts out.
“I don’t want anyone to ever think that I’m ever trying to capitalize on the struggle of others.” She does this by using diverse models to be the subjects of her art, and making space to discuss the feelings of others, and how that may influence the end result.
Kobayashi-LeBel advises the next generation of artists to indulge in what makes them happy, no matter the kind of criticism they may receive from outside forces. She also points out that artists should never let anyone invalidate their form of expression if that is what brings them happiness.
“I had a guy come in to my exhibition and say, ‘This is real art. But just throwing paint around on the canvas, you know, that’s not real art.’ And I disagreed — art can be whatever you want.”
