'Like living in a kaleidoscope': This logo aims to capture the complexity of being trans

Every month, we feature a new take on the CBC Arts logo created by a Canadian artist. Check out our previous logos!

Anna Campbell is a multi-disciplinary artist living in Toronto, and when CBC Arts hired the recent Ryerson grad to create a logo for Transgender Awareness Month, we included one specific note: make it blue, pink and white. It's a limited combo, to be sure, but those three colours are a nod to the trans flag. And as Campbell explains in this email interview, that palette became the springboard for how they (beautifully!) expressed the complexity of being trans. Read on to learn more about the design and what inspires Campbell's artwork.

Name: Anna Campbell (they/them)

Age: 29

Homebase: Toronto

What inspires your aesthetic?

I sometimes think of myself as the impossible '90s lovechild of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, so I'm really a gay pop artist at heart. Mid-century sci fi and fantasy is a big influence on me visually, from pulpy novel covers to TV starship set decoration. But I'm also a queer feminist, so Barbara Kruger, Keith Haring, et al. I like anything that has big colour, big heart or a biting message. Even better all three!

Let's talk about your design! What inspired the concept?

I like to think of being trans as infinite diversity in infinite combination, to steal a quote from Star Trek. I visualize that as like living in a kaleidoscope, spinning out in endless fractal colours. That was the starting point.

November is Transgender Awareness Month. How does the logo reflect that theme?  

We [Campbell and CBC Arts producers] wanted to use the trans flag colours specifically for this, because of course they hold both a lot of emotional and political meaning. So using that short palette I wanted to use shade and shape to evoke as much of a sense of variation as possible. I also wanted it to feel fun, because despite all of the violence and vitriol lobbied against us, being trans is rather wonderful.

What's the project you're most proud of?

I just graduated with my master's this fall, despite all the pandemic setbacks that at some points made it feel impossible. I'm really proud of my thesis work Machines For Living, which is very much about the experience of being trans and queer and I hope one day I can get it exhibited somewhere other than online! 

Any new projects that you can tell us about? What are you working on these days?

I'm always trying to scrape up as many illustration and design commissions as I can to afford the cost of living, but I'm also planning some big painting and video work for next year that I'm really excited about!

What's your favourite place to see art?

Honestly? On the street. Street art, architecture, fashion, even music — you can find so much of it in public space, but I also always wish there was more. There's nothing like experiencing art with other people. It's why I love theatres of any kind.

I like to think of being trans as infinite diversity in infinite combination, to steal a quote from Star Trek.- Anna Campbell, artist

Who's the last artist you discovered online?

I think it must have been Bebhinn Eilish, who's an Irish illustrator I stumbled across on Twitter. Her work has a really evocative style and I love anyone who draws natural body hair!

What work of art do you wish you owned?

Anything by Laurena Finéus, whose work I've admired ever since I bought a print from them at an Ottawa art fair. I still have it hanging above my bed. One day I would love to buy an actual painting because their work has such fantastic texture and sense of character and I know they're going to go far.

Where can we see more from you?

My catch-all portfolio website is www.acrookedmouth.ca, but you can also find me on Instagram (@acrookedmouth) where I love to post process photos and sketches and sometimes dogs!

This conversation has been edited and condensed.