Open Studios with Faria Firoz and Karl & Khim Mata Hipol

Bangladeshi-born artist Faria Firoz is an interdisciplinary artist whose art practice explores globalization, cultural diaspora, displacement, and equity to examine identity and cultural hybridization. Her work investigates social, political, and cultural issues by utilizing pattern-making as a form of poetic meditation. Faria’s dedication to her craft has led her to participate in numerous exhibitions both in Canada and internationally, where she has showcased her unique perspective on these themes.

In recognition of her contributions to the arts and her commitment to social advocacy, Faria Firoz was awarded the prestigious Lieutenant Governor’s Medal in 2021. Faria holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of the Fraser Valley, where she was honored with the Outstanding Achievement Award. Currently, she is furthering her artistic journey by pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree at Emily Carr University of Art & Design.

Karl Mata Hipol is a Filipino Canadian multidisciplinary artist and curator, living and creating in the traditional unceded territories of the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations, commonly known as North Vancouver. Currently, through his artistic practice he looks at archival collections from galleries and museums and investigate the absence or presence of Filipinos within the Canadian landscape. Ultimately, Hipol’s goal is to comprehend his positionality, weave his story and disturb the ‘Filipino invisibility’ in Canada. Holding a BFA (2022) from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, with a major in Visual Art and a minor in Curatorial Practices, He hasgarnered recognition for my commitment to Anti-Racism + Social Justice, receiving an Honourable mention for the ECU Grad Award and OPUS Art Supplies Grad Award. He was also awarded the 2024 AGO X RBC Emerging Artist-in-Residence, and the 2022 Artist-in-Residence by Herschel Supply Co. His other awards include the Art Rapture Prize for Visual Art and a Visual Art Award from the BC Arts Council (2023-2024). He has exhibited at Deer Lake Art Gallery (2023) and Gordon Smith Gallery (2023). He has been commissioned for public artworks by the Ferry Building Art Gallery (2023), Burnaby Village Museum (2022), and Burrard Arts Foundation (2022).

Khim Mata Hipol (b. 1999, La Union, Philippines; North Vancouver, BC) is an emerging interdisciplinary artist based on the unceded territories of the Squamish, TsleilWaututh, and Musqueam people. Hipol focuses his work primarily on lens-based media and has expanded to printmaking, sculpture, and text. By investigating the impacts of colonialism and the Filipino migration it caused, Hipol considers how identity and culture cross-pollinate between the Philippines and Canada. His positionality, which lies between these two colonized and colonial structures, is the motivation behind his practice, at once highlighting and complicating these systems. He graduated with a Certificate of Photography (2019) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Photography and a Minor in Art and Text (2023) from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Hipol is a recipient of the Audain Travel Award (2022), Chick Rice Award for Excellence in Photography (2023), An honorable mention of the Seymour Art Gallery ‘New and Emerging’ (2022) and was long-listed for the Lind Prize (2022, 2023). He has shown his work in his solo show at The Lobby, Union Christian College, in Philippines (2023) and duo show at Ciano Umuk, Bauang, Philippines (2024) and Gordon Smith Gallery, North Vancouver (2023). He shared his works in group shows at Filter Photo in Chicago Illinois (2024), Blue Sky Gallery in Oregon (2024), Pendulum Gallery (2024), Akasha Art, Toronto, Ontario (2024), Access Gallery (2024), The Center of Fine Arts Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (2022), Contemporary Calgary, Calgary, Alberta (2022 and 2023), and Vancouver and Philippines (2023). His works have been privately collected in Canada, the USA, and the Philippines.

During their time at Griffin, Karl and Khim Mata Hipol are working on a collaborative artistic residency titled "Looking Back to Go Farther." Drawing inspiration from the poignant Filipino saying "ang hindi lumingon sa pinangalingan, ay hindi makararating sa paroroonan" ("one who does not look back on their roots, will not reach their destination"), their project explores their journey of being Filipino immigrants turned naturalized Canadians returning to their ancestral homeland, the Philippines, after nearly a decade, from Canada.

Through a synthesis of research gathered from both the Philippines and Canada, Karl and Khim Mata Hipol’s plan to create experimental photography and installations that reflect their migrant experience. Central to their project is the celebration of cultural heritage and the exploration of universal themes such as connection, disconnection, and identity. They aim to foster empathy and unity through art, inviting viewers to engage with the richness of our shared human experience.

Image: Faria Firoz, Biborton: Shift of Being, 2023. Wax, beads, threads and hair on saree.

Host or Publisher Griffin Art Projects