Outsiders and Others – Brain Child. An idea or invention that is considered a particular person’s creation.

From Outsiders and Others Newsletter

Brain Child. An idea or invention that is considered a particular person’s creation.
Featuring artworks by Caro Embling, Redrum, and Gabriel Ostapchuk.
May 3 – 31, 2025

Opening Reception / May 3 from 6-8pm / Free & open to the public.

“In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are proud to present an insightful new exhibition that celebrates the voices and visions of three extraordinary artists. Unlike previous years when we showcased work selected through an open call, this year we’ve taken a more intentional and personal approach—curating a show that brings together three artists we’ve never worked with before, each of whom brings a deeply individual perspective shaped by their own experiences with mental health. Their works are as diverse as their journeys, offering an honest exploration of what it means to live, create, and thrive living with mental illness.”

Yuri Arajs / Artistic Director and Curator

Caro Embling is a Vancouver-based artist and art therapist whose work draws deeply from personal and collective experiences with mental illness. Trained at Cardiff School of Art in Wales, she transitioned from painting to sculpture to explore themes of identity and gender. After immigrating to Canada, Caro dedicated herself to community-based art and later became an art therapist, supporting individuals living with trauma, HIV, addiction, and mental illness.

Her own journey through chronic fatigue syndrome and depression brought her to The Art Studios—a space for creative recovery—where she reconnected with her art practice and began teaching again.

In this exhibition, Caro explores fragility: The rawness of anxiety and depression, the tenderness in vulnerability, and the damage we inflict on the earth. Using materials such as thread and tracing paper, she captures both the delicacy and resilience of the human experience, inviting viewers to find strength and beauty in what feels broken.

Redrum
Redrum works with a variety of different mediums, from stickers, stencils and spray paints to wheat-paste posters. The main themes in his work are him as a child and his love for different fonts.

Although he struggles with medical issues including CPTSD, anxiety, ADHD, Fibromyalgia and epilepsy, Redrum hopes to keep his sanity and bring a new layer to Vancouver’s street art scene. He frequently collaborates with his AYS crew mates and they plan to poster bomb Vancouver with stickers and paste-ups.”

Gabriel Ostapchuk Gabriel Ostapchuk is an artist with a deep love and respect for Mother Earth. Using a combination of spray paint and brushes, he creates vibrant and saturated abstract and surreal scenes. Gabriel draws upon local culture and natural surroundings to create impactful and meaningful works of art that add value to the communities and people it touches.

Please direct all questions to: outsidersandothers@gmail.com