Anonymous artist responds to Tumblr followers with meaningful feminist drawings
"I thought that being anonymous was sort of a way to give myself permission to be a bit more daring in my art"
The anonymous Montreal-based artist who goes by the online persona Ambivalently Yours is responding to her Tumblr followers' deeply personal messages with drawings. The project began in 2012 when she started posting her feminist notes and drawings on Tumblr. Followers immediately connected with her work, and would write her letters requesting her thoughts and advice on topics ranging from feminism to relationships to body image.
The resulting drawings are carefully-considered watercolour and pen compositions on pale pink paper that let her followers know that they are heard, respected and valued.
In this video produced by Mercedes Grundy and directed by Pablo Aravena, CBC Arts caught up with the artist at her Montreal studio to learn about how Ambivalently Yours started, and why her followers have shared her drawings hundreds of thousands of times on Tumblr.
CAMP pop-up gallery and shop. Featuring Ambivalently Yours, Laurence Philomène, Starchild Stela. July 2 to July 29 at 4334 Rue Saint-Denis. Montréal.