Flower power! Winnie Truong gives our logo a summertime makeover
Inspired by outdoor adventure, July's profile pic is bursting with animated blossoms
Every month, we feature a new take on the CBC Arts logo created by a Canadian artist. Check out our previous logos!
Get outside! July is pretty much the only month of the year where Canadians — wherever they live — can count on the weather feeling at least a little something like summer, so you bet we'll be out there seizing those sunny days.
That's why summer adventure is the theme of this month's CBC Arts profile pic, designed by one of our favourite Toronto artists, Winnie Truong.
Lately, Truong's studio has been blooming with wildflowers, and her logo design delivers a colourful, animated bouquet, embellished with delicate pencil drawings.
"While strangely familiar, the florals I depict exist just outside of reality and echo the body, hair and sinew," she writes — and in the questionnaire below, Truong reveals a few more details about the design, while sharing her take on an ideal summer adventure. Read on!
Name: Winnie Truong
Age: 29
Homebase: Toronto
Let's talk about that design! What inspired your take on the CBC Arts logo?
The summer season is finally upon us! I'm channelling those hot summer evening walks that give respite to the oppressive heat of the day.
Much of my current work with cut paper culls inspiration from the natural world. For this, I saw the logo itself as a cut-out window peering into a lively floral pattern while the little bud cheekily beckons you to peer in.
What's your favourite way to spend a summer day in Toronto? Any recommended summer adventures?
The Toronto Island is the ultimate getaway within the city. Just head straight to the beach and enjoy the rare sight of the horizon in your urban life...ideally with an ice cream cone in hand.
What's inspiring your art these days?
A world seemingly rife with social injustices. It's a time where every issue is urgent and divisive.
All this, for me, makes the need all the more potent to respond with output that is beautiful, complicated and of the female experience.
What's the art project you're most proud of?
At the moment, I am not proud of any particular project per se, but rather of my continued interest in growing my own practice and expanding my work into different mediums.
I recently received the Chalmers Arts Fellowship through the Ontario Arts Council to pursue my work in animation and I am proud and excited to embark on this new journey, to learn and push my paper cut drawings in an even more surreal direction.
Who's the last artist you discovered online?
The surreal soft sculptures of Hein Koh and expressive female figures of Koak.
What's your favourite place to see art?
My favourite place to see art, whether at home or while travelling, is in person — in galleries and artist-run centres, sculpture parks and public installations. Anywhere beyond the confines of my iPhone!
Any new projects on the go? Where can we see more from you?
I am currently in the midst of developing more of my paper cut women into movable "puppets" and storyboarding little vignettes to animate. Look out for these experiments as they evolve in my animation work this year.
You can see more on instagram (@winnietron) for snippets of animations, moments from the studio and news of upcoming exhibitions. Visit winnietruong.com for everything else.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.