Every year, I try to visit my local “Arts College” – OCADU – to see what creative young people are up to.
This post is the first time I’m highlighting the people who’s work made an impact on me, to give them some publicity. Go ahead and visit their sites:
I really liked Selina Zheng‘s “Shanzhai Is Culture” graphic design capstone project. She made a neat zine that explained how bootlegs and fakes are not considered “bad” in Eastern cultures, and she showed appreciation for the fun and creativity of knockoffs. Selina was inspired by Pacific Mall, which happens to be one of my favourite places in the Greater Toronto Area!
Also in Graphic Design, Warrick Bruan (a friend of the blog commented that he has a fantastic name) his photography of decaying signage and the patina of age that certain materials gather when they’re used on building facades. He developed the photos in OCADU’s darkroom, and created 3 small books themed on metal, masonry and wood. He also created a 3D-printed building that is made up of liminal spaces (and continues in an infinite loop if you look at it just right).
Warrick walked me through his work in person, and also informed me about the Liminal Assembly group here in Toronto. Warrick’s website is here. Unfortunately the PDF links on his Graphic Patina OCADU page don’t work…
There were several strong photographers at GradEx 2026, with 2 or 3 strong “absurd” photographers’ work exhibited together in a small room to great effect. Interiors by Reilly Narod. Blue 52 by Ethan Yoshitomo. And a third series of photographs of used up soap/items.
Maya Juric had a series of large prints called “When I’m in Cosplay”. The prints themselves were intentionally faded/processed and featured her friends in Cosplay. What I liked about these photographs is that they reflected her love for her friends and showed everyone in their best light – similar to the qualities in a John Singer Sargent portrait. (A certain friend of the blog pointed out that, while I thought of Sargent showing women “as they are”, I was mistaken. Their necks and limbs are unnaturally elongated. Touche.)
Finally, Ilaria Serra had these great ethereal 80s photographs in her “Liminal Reflections” series. I even bought a couple of small prints!
Her website is at ilariaserra.format.com
In the Illustration program, Kaisy Tsoi was hands-down the standout star. Her series of soft illustrations commemorated pets who passed away – and their special quirks. I think what’s interesting about Kaisy is that she has her own style and has something to say (sort of like the embroidery in Tomoko Konoike’s project that delivers a brutal message in a cutesy package).
The vast majority of the young illustrators at the show had strong technical skill – but they’re young and don’t have a strong message to deliver. Yet.
Lin Sun’s unique creature illustrations stood out. There’s something original here – Lin knows how to elongate and twist a body while keeping the end result cohesive.
Ren (https://imginn.com/shadow.elysium/) had several illustrations themed around death and warfare. This one contrasts the glamour of war with the fact that the warriors are disposable cogs in the machine. I like the layout.
Edouard Vallerand (https://imginn.com/lazy_cr0w/) presented a collection of illustrations from a post-apocalyptic world. We definitely have a kindred vibe and I appreciated his entertaining takes on futuristic cults, like these “Harbingers of the Invisible Gifts”:
This cult worships the power of nuclear waste and the mutations and afflictions they provide from the invisible radioactive gifts that are given by their entity, The Kind One. They congregate in old, worn down nuclear facilities where the people of the old time have set up large spike monuments to worship their deity.
Here’s a beautiful risograph print from Edouard.
Devin Yang‘s work stood out from the other illustrators’ in the large hall. It is vibrant and dynamic. His style is not my jam, but I gotta give kudos to the lively spark in his work. His website his here.
I especially liked the dance animation that you can see on this page.
Daniel Vrbos made a font by running an ink-dipped marble in a series of rubberband tracks that he constructed. The result was pleasing and “punk”. Daniel’s site is at danielvrbos-portfolio.format.com
Daniel has several interesting ideas on his site – like graphic design work he’d created with unusual tools (ie. no Adobe tools!):
Aaryan Pashine had several cool books laid out. Aaryan creates custom programs that generate bespoke book layouts. He also makes generative images. And an XKCD search engine that reveals all the traffic going back and forth between the client and server as you do the search…. Just wild stuff. Check out his site a-p.space.
In the Painting department, I liked this “centauress” by Maya Kaplan. The rest of the collection is also wonderfully weird. Like melonking in real life.
Jake Santos (https://imginn.com/jaeksantos/) had a series of 4 defocused airbrush paintings of European metalwork. The paintings are large, so they create a very odd feeling when you stand nearby – something almost recognizable but not quite. Like you’re stroking out.
That’s it.
I hope you enjoyed!
