None of these Canadian artists would be able to do what they do if they'd been born an only child
No amount of distance or lingering resentment over hand-me-downs can stand in the way of these partnerships
Joel and Ethan Coen. Joan and John Cusack. Lana and Lilly Wachowski. Even the ever-scuffling Gallagher brothers. There's no shortage of sibling creative partnerships that have changed the way we look at art, and we've definitely highlighted a few of those partnerships here at CBC Arts.
Whether they're coming together to bring each other's work to the next level or creating things in tribute to one another, none of these artists would be able to do what they do if they'd been born an only child. Celebrate Siblings Day by getting to know them a little better!
Cody and Connor Smith
Forget email — these brothers communicate through paintings. Cody and Connor Smith grew up together in St. Catharines, Ont., but when Cody moved to Vancouver a few years ago, they decided to start collaborating...from across the country. The process isn't exactly swift: one of them will begin working on a canvas and then package it up to send to the other, either by mail or with travelling family members. Each piece makes three or four trips before it's finished, and the brothers say the paintings end up absorbing something from their travels: "There's something about Canada that I see in them," says Cody. At the end of the day, though, what the paintings are really about is the brothers' connection — something that it would take more than a few thousand kilometres to mess with.
Sana and Mani Mazinani
The Mazinani siblings collaborate from across an even greater distance: Mani is based in Toronto, while Sana lives a border away in San Francisco. Both were born in Iran and moved to Ontario as kids, and their shared immigrant memories are a focal point of the work they make together — in fact, it's what inspired them to try bring their art practices together in the first place, when Sana asked Mani to design sound and video elements for a sculpture she was working on about her experience coming to Canada. And they've kept it up ever since, travelling between the two cities to work together in person and working on ideas over Skype when they can't physically be in the same place. In 2017, the controversial U.S. travel ban nearly tore them apart — but it's only added fuel to the fire of the politically-charged art they make together.
The Barr Brothers
Things are a little more simple for Andrew and Brad Barr, mostly because they actually live in the same place. Although the brothers were born in Providence, Rhode Island, they've called Montreal home for many years, and the city played a huge role in forming their band. When they first moved there, Brad moved into an apartment next door to harpist Sarah Pagé, and hearing her playing through the wall influenced his own writing so much that the brothers quickly brought her on board for their newly-formed musical project. Their emotional connection to the city goes back even earlier, though: their songwriting has long been shaped by hometown hero Leonard Cohen — and they paid tribute as part of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal's A Crack in Everything exhibit.
Justin G.
Siblings don't always have to be collaborators to influence one another. For Toronto slam poet Justin G., watching his twin brother struggle with depression compelled him to write a poem called "Siamese Twins." In the powerful piece, he speaks directly to the man he calls his "one true best friend in life": "These people, they don't know that the day you tried to kill yourself, you nearly killed me too...A mind fit for Siamese twins, two minds in one home. From this moment, I promise you will never have to suffer alone."
Lenny Len
Toronto dancer and choreographer Lenny DeLa Pena, better known as Lenny Len, takes a similar inspiration: he was looking for validation from his older brother and ended up finding his passion in the process. Growing up with his aunt in the Bay Area, he and his siblings lived in "rival neighbourhoods" — but he still deeply wanted his brother's approval, and he found it through dance. As he shares in the story of his artistic roots, the moment that changed everything from him was when he was dancing in the sixth grade and heard a familiar voice for the first time in a while. It was "the big homie" proudly proclaiming: "Yeah, that's my little brother." He's been dancing ever since.
Tegan and Sara
Finally, how could we have this list without tipping a hat to everyone's favourite Canadian twins? Tegan and Sara Quin have been making music together since they were teenagers, and that's given them plenty of time to experiment with how they collaborate together. For the majority of their career, each of them wrote and sang their own individual songs — but that all changed with 2013's mainstream breakthrough Heartthrob, which was their first album to be entirely co-written together. Their most recent record, 2016's Love You to Death, even features them writing songs about one another. As one of Canada's most beloved duos, the two clearly need no introduction — so instead, enjoy this personal reflection from CBC Arts' Peter Knegt on why their music has been so meaningful to him.