From an early age, Christina Leslie was always creating, sketching, asking questions, and exploring her Jamaican roots through stories from her father’s family. She’s always loved the visual arts. In high school, she discovered darkroom photography in grade 11, and from then on, there was no turning back. Nothing could dissuade her from pursuing it.
It was no surprise that she earned the Fine Arts Award at her high school graduation. She was dead-set on pursuing her passion post-secondary. She earned her BFA in Photography at OCAD University. Her thesis project, EveryTING Irie, was acquired by the Wedge Collection and is also held in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Her work is also held in the permanent collections of TD Bank and the Robert McLaughlin Gallery.
Rooted in her Jamaican heritage and biracial identity, her work is ever-evolving. Never stagnant, always brimming with ideas, Christina knows the reality of the “starving artist” but continues to hustle (she’s had some interesting jobs over the years). She is constantly educating herself, researching themes, and developing techniques that are uniquely her own. She made photos out of physical sugar! She completed her MFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design during the pandemic. She has exhibited in major cities and respected institutions. And really, this just scratches the surface of what she’s done — you can always look her up to see more. She is represented by Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto.
-Written by L. Leslie
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Which ’hood are you in?
I wish I could say I live in some funky artist loft in the coolest part of town, but nope, I’m in Durham Region. For a while, I was back and forth between Hamilton and Durham, which turned into an extreme sport in commuting. Fun adventure, but exhausting. Now I’m back and settled in Pickering.
What do you do?
Well, I’m a lens-based artist and my practice is all about experimenting with history, memory, and Black diasporic stories, particularly through my Caribbean background. Over the last few years, I’ve been building on Sugar Coat, a project that started during my Master’s, where I use sugar to explore the legacies of the sugar trade. I also work with pinhole photography, making my own lenses and retrofitting them to my camera to create images about history, memory, and fragmentation.
I’ve also stepped into independent curating. I curated The Great Unseen at McMaster Museum of Art, which was such a cool challenge for me as an artist. I’m really proud of the exhibit. That experience made me want to keep curating alongside my art practice.
What are you currently working on?
Right now, I’m in the research and experiment phase of a new body of work that mixes textiles with photography. I’ve been dusting off my silk-screening skills and even experimenting with denim to see where that can go.
I’ve also had this big project idea in my back pocket for years. It would involve travel, photographing, and deep research, but it needs serious funding to happen. So at the moment, like most artists, I’m knee-deep in grant applications to try and make it real. Unless, of course, a rich benefactor shows up one day and says, “Here’s the money, just go make the work.” A girl can dream!
Where can we find your work?
A few places. My work is in the Wedge Collection, the AGO’s permanent collection, and the TD Bank collection. I’m represented by Stephen Bulger Gallery, and the team there is great about showing work in person if you book a visit. And if you’d rather browse online, you can always find me at www.christinaleslie.com or on social media, of course.
