OCADU Student Public Art Exhibition 2025 - From Past To Present
June 1 to 30, 2025
OCADU Student Public Art Exhibition 2025 embraces the theme of Sankofa, a concept deeply rooted in reflection, progress, and growth. This exhibition invited student artists to explore and interpret the Sankofa symbols through a 15 -second screen-based multi-channel artwork, celebrating the ideas of rebirth, retrieval, and learning from the past.
The exhibition, From Past to Present, focuses on the themes of rebirth, retrieval, and learning from the past. Through collaborative efforts, student artists created animations that reflect their personal interpretations of these themes. The exhibition not only highlights the artistic talents of the students but also underscores the significance these artistic themes. It serves as a reminder that progress is achieved by understanding and reflecting on our history.
About the Artists:
Amanda Andrade
ARTIST Bio
Amanda Andrade is an emerging animation artist entering her fourth year at OCAD University.
With a strong foundation in animation, she brings a particular passion for character design and compositing to her creative practice. Her work often features cinematic imagery and atmospheric storytelling, grounded in personal meaning and emotional resonance. Amanda is proficient in industry-standard tools including Toon Boom Harmony, Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Audition, and Illustrator. She is driven by the excitement of bringing her ideas to life in ways that are both visually compelling and deeply meaningful.
ARTIST STATMENT
This is a multi-channel installation titled NATURE. This work explores disconnection, transformation, and the need to return to the natural world. Inspired by the concept of Sankofa, looking to the past to inform the future. This Piece reflects on how nature once grounded us, and how its absence today has left us adrift. The narrative follows a burnt-out executive who, upon encountering nature, sheds their skin and reconnects with nature, becoming enamored with life. This transformation symbolizes a necessary return to what we've lost. In the final shot, character A breaks the fourth wall, staring directly into the viewer’s soul. This is my attempt: to connect with countless strangers passing by. The gaze invites reflection not just on the piece, but also on yourself.
Website: https://amandaa.myportfolio.com/work
Instagram: @Amanda_a_andrade__
Yingyu Sun
Artist Bio
Yingyu Sun (b. 2000, Toronto) is an interdisciplinary artist currently studying Integrated Media. Her practice spans interactive installation, video art, and exploration of personal and cultural narratives. Yingyu’s work often draws on themes of memory, time, and space, with an interest in blending traditional cultural elements with contemporary artistic expressions.
She has participated in various exhibitions and collaborative projects, including the 2024 Annual INTM Exhibition “Memory Jump Point”, where she showcased her interactive installation, and the 2024 group project “The Space Of Time”, a dynamic exploration of space in relation to time. Her other notable projects include “Dye”, a film installation, and “The Blank Space”, a cultural interactive installation, both exhibited in November 2024. Yingyu’s artistic practice is driven by curiosity and a desire to explore the intersection of personal experiences and universal themes through visually compelling and engaging works.
Her projects often combine elements of interactivity, encouraging viewers to actively engage with the work and become part of the experience. Yingyu is constantly experimenting with different media to create immersive environments that invite reflection on memory, identity, and the passage of time.
ARTIST STATMENT
This video work unfolds through three diary photographs, tracing the growth of an ordinary protagonist.
The protagonist symbolizes the countless everyday people who have passed through the sankafo square — seemingly ordinary, yet each carrying vivid, unique stories. Like the square itself, behind its familiar appearance lies a rich history shaped by time and experience.
Through personal memories and growth, the work reflects the spirit of the square logo: drawing strength from the past, accumulating experiences, and moving steadily
toward a brighter future.
Email: sunyingyu@ocadu.ca
Website: https://sunyingyu.myportfolio.com/
Instagram: @icy_sun__
Charlize Ga
Artist Bio
Charlize Ga is a Canadian-born Filipino artist based in Toronto, working in 2D animation, music composition, and design. Charlize’s work reflects on the intricate experiences of her own life and self-identity, bringing stories to life that contemplate one’s place in the world and the importance of connection. She recently exhibited for OCAD U’s Grad Ex, where she displayed her thesis film “Bunso,” an animated film about her own unconventional dynamic with her sisters, situating itself within a cultural standpoint of Filipino familial dynamics. Charlize graduated from OCAD U with a BFA in Experimental Animation.
ARTIST STATMENT
“One Day to the Next” is a multi-channel series of drawn animations exploring themes of memories, human connection, and self-identity. In this work, I created three different scenes to represent the relationships that we develop throughout our life: familial, self, and peer connection. These scenes are connected through similar visual aesthetics and tied together with a red string of fate. “One Day to the Next” relates to Sankofa Square’s themes of rebirth and progress by showing a reflection of one's past; a crucial thing to consider when moving towards future growth. These themes are important to me because I will soon be reaching a transitional period in my life after graduation, and in order to keep moving towards the future, you still need to look back at the progress that led you there.
Website: https://charlizegbga.wixsite.com/atrochar
Email: charlizegbga@gmail.com
Instagram: @atrochar_
Sonia Jasmine Seepersad
Artist Bio
Sonia Jasmine is a Canadian-based digital media artist specializing in video editing, motion graphics and graphic design. Currently studying Experimental Animation at OCAD University, they plan to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in 2026. They previously earned a certificate in Art Fundamentals from Seneca College (2019-2021). Versatile in style and approach, Sonia Jasmine is passionate about translating ideas into dynamic visuals experiences, working both independently and collaboratively. Their creative interests are rooted in entertainment culture with strong influences from music, video games and film.
ARTIST STATMENT
I am a digital media artist working across video editing, motion graphics and graphic design. My work often takes the form of colorful abstract, cinematic collages, blending visual textures through an instinctive and fluid process. I am drawn to the challenge of translating ideas whether my own or someone else’s vision into a dynamic visual that captures emotions beyond words.
Website: https://soniajseep.wixsite.com/mysite
Email: soniaj.seep@gmail.com
Subin Kim
Artist Bio
Subin Kim is a Toronto-based Korean animator, concept artist, and illustrator. She has a strong interest in creating attractive characters and visually impactful scenes. She studied Experimental Animation at OCAD University, where she explored mixed-media animation, incorporating 2D, 3D, and stop-motion techniques. With extensive experience in various team projects, she aspires to contribute to cinematic animation, game concept art, and promotional animation.
Artist Statement
My work is inspired by the spirit of Sankofa, which reminds us that a society's journey toward a positive future is guided by the lessons of the past. I wanted to express this idea through animation. Using the new Sankofa Square heart symbol as a central motif, I explore the theme of progressing into the future by reflecting on the past. The heart is reconstructed by gathering broken fragments representing the past, and gradually transforms into a futuristic design. I also expressed this theme through technique by using traditional rotoscoping to illustrate the past and 3D art to represent the future. By blending these different animation methods, I emphasize the connection between the past and the future.
Website: https://subinportfolio.format.com
Email: relsie8152@gmail.com
