{"title":"Audra Townsend","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg style=\"max-height: 300px; max-width:55%\" src=\"https:\/\/helloart-prod-bucket.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/artist\/audra-townsend\/audra-townsend-profile.jpg\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAudra Townsend is a British-born Jamaican-Canadian abstract and mixed media artist whose practice is deeply informed by her training as a sociocultural anthropologist. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she approaches art-making as a fundamental expression of human curiosity, a tactile investigation into our relationship with the material world and what it means to be human.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eWorking intuitively, Audra creates compositions characterized by dense networks of intersecting lines that delineate geometric forms of varying scales. Her deliberate use of repurposed materials such as food packaging, printed paper, and magazines reflects her anthropological interest in the objects that populate our everyday lives. Through this investigation, she builds richly textured surfaces in earthy and celestial palettes, transforming the mundane into sites of aesthetic and conceptual inquiry.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eThough self-taught as a visual artist, Audra brings rigorous intellectual grounding to her practice. She holds an MA in Anthropological Research from the University of Manchester and honours degrees in Sociocultural Anthropology and Administrative Studies from York University. This interdisciplinary foundation allows her to explore the intersection of material culture, human experience, and abstract expression.\r\u003cbr\u003e\r\u003cbr\u003eAudra's work has garnered international recognition, with exhibitions across North America and Europe in Brussels (Belgium), Daegu (South Korea), Georgetown (Canada), Madrid (Spain), Seoul (South Korea), Toronto (Canada), and Vancouver (Canada). Her practice continues to bridge the analytical and the intuitive, inviting viewers to reconsider the materials and marks that shape our understanding of the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hybridization","title":"Hybridization","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on wood.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e36x36x1\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHybridization is part of Audra Townsend's 2024 solo exhibition, Seekers and Imprints*, which explored the complex migration stories of Jamaican families and how they moved from the Caribbean to Britain and to Canada. Hybridization is a mixed media painting that works like a map. It shows not just where people (the stick figures) went, but also the feelings and history behind their journeys (fictional tribal markings). Through art, Audra turns her personal family memories into visual maps of the diaspora.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44128928923751,"sku":null,"price":3000.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1782996113_76181.jpg?v=1782998854"},{"product_id":"devolution","title":"Devolution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x30x1.50\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDevolution is part of Audra's 2021 Ordinary Affects series, which is a phrase coined by American Professor of Anthropology Kathleen Stewart. Stewart explains that these are “public feelings that begin and end in broad circulation, but they’re also the stuff that seemingly intimate lives are made…”\r\u003cbr\u003eDevolution is a collective horror or delight expressed as either gasps, sighs, or umms and ahhs due to some good or bad shared experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129002750055,"sku":null,"price":2100.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783001031_85134.jpg?v=1783001052"},{"product_id":"tonis-painting","title":"Toni's Painting","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 50.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToni's Painting is part of Audra's 2021 Ordinary Affects series and is named after her niece. Ordinary Affects is a phrase coined by American Professor of Anthropology Kathleen Stewart. Stewart explains that these are “public feelings that begin and end in broad circulation, but they’re also the stuff that seemingly intimate lives are made…” It is a collective horror, expressed as gasps, sighs, or umms and ahhs due to a shared experience, good or bad. Toni's Painting is that knowing sigh to express what it is like living with a 21-year-old.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129121960039,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783002922_48584.jpg?v=1783003527"},{"product_id":"karens-painting","title":"Karen's Painting","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on wood.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e36x36x1\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKaren's Painting is part of Audra Townsend's 2024 solo exhibition, Seekers and Imprints, which explores the complex migration stories of Jamaican families who moved from the Caribbean to Britain and Canada. The painting incorporates excerpts from letters written to Audra's grandmother by her granduncle Herbert A. Pritchard, who was one of a few Black West Indian men who served in the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II and in regular service after the war. For peace of mind he wrote frequently to Audra's grandmother, who in turn would send him care packages of food from her shop in Kingston, Jamaica. His letters documented his experiences and struggles as a Jamaican immigrant in the RAF and England during the 1950s.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129156694119,"sku":null,"price":3200.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783005051_28745.jpg?v=1783005071"},{"product_id":"scratch-1","title":"Scratch","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 25.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScratch is a painting created by Audra in March 2020 at the beginning of the Canadian pandemic quarantine as a form of self-empowerment.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129171603559,"sku":null,"price":400.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783004497_84614.jpg?v=1783005999"},{"product_id":"catalyst-for-social-development","title":"Catalyst for Social Change Development","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e40x30x1.50\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCatalyst for Social Change Development is a painting that incorporates Shin Noodle paper to symbolize the hybridization of cultures, and is part of Audra's 2024 series that adds to the conversations about migrants and migration, reflecting on her own family history research and what she learned from her Jamaican ancestors’ life stories and migration experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129175732327,"sku":null,"price":2300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783006414_95573.jpg?v=1783006435"},{"product_id":"catalyst-for-social-change","title":"Catalyst for Social Change","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e40x30x1.50\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCatalyst for Social Change is a painting that incorporates Shin Noodle paper to symbolize the hybridization of cultures, and is part of Audra's 2024 series that adds to the conversations about migrants and migration, reflecting on her own family history research and what she learned from her Jamaican ancestors’ life stories and migration experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129181991015,"sku":null,"price":2300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783007039_63360.jpg?v=1783007058"},{"product_id":"spice-1","title":"Spice","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 50.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpice is a painting that incorporates Shin Noodle paper to symbolize the hybridization of cultures, and is part of Audra's 2024 series that adds to the conversations about migrants and migration, reflecting on her own family history research and what she learned from her Jamaican ancestors’ life stories and migration experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129190674535,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783009738_35272.jpg?v=1783009937"},{"product_id":"histroy-of-human-migration","title":"Histroy of Human Migration","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 50.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHistory of Human Migration is part of Audra Townsend's 2024 solo exhibition, Seekers and Imprints, which explores the complex migration stories of Jamaican families who moved from the Caribbean to Britain and Canada. The painting incorporates text, images and symbols encounter during her family history research.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129203290215,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783008462_13071.jpg?v=1783008486"},{"product_id":"jamaican-flow","title":"Jamaican Flow","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 25.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJamaican Flow is part of Audra's 2024 series that adds to the conversations about migrants and migration, reflecting on her own family history research and what she learned from her Jamaican ancestors’ life stories and migration experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129375682663,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783011486_42136.jpg?v=1783011722"},{"product_id":"migration-and-war","title":"Migration and War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcrylic on canvas.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e24x36\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLimited edition 1 of 25.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMigration and War is part of Audra's 2024 series that adds to the conversations about migrants and migration, reflecting on her own family history research and what she learned from her Jamaican ancestors’ life stories and migration experiences.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Audra Townsend","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44129389674599,"sku":null,"price":300.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0063\/3038\/4487\/files\/1_1783012315_17150.jpg?v=1783012331"}],"url":"https:\/\/helloart.com\/collections\/audra-townsend.oembed","provider":"helloart","version":"1.0","type":"link"}