Fine Art & Photography

We Are Canada
Making Politics More Palatable

by Elizabeth Cook

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Towards the end of January of 2025, I found myself feeling much the same as millions of others. Anxious unrest fueled by toxic threats to the sovereignty of our country and seeing our world leaders act like bullies on the global political playground, has left me feeling disillusioned, powerless, and deeply concerned for the future we’re handing to the next generation. I was, I AM angry. I wanted to scream and cry out to the world “we already did this!”, and yet, here we are again.
 

As artists, we constantly feel compelled to create works to express our emotions. In a time of chaos, fear, anger… the compulsion turns into something more weighted, as a pressure builds from both the inside and out. We must channel this in one way or another, because otherwise we risk exploding or wilting.

Every time I tried to broach the subject of the political climate, I was met with passive or, worse, dismissive responses. It’s like watching a movie I already know the ending to, but having it happen in real-time reality.

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After several slights and veiled threats towards my home country, Canada, the United States was hit with an “Egg Crisis”, I was reminded of the (incorrectly attributed) quote “Let them eat cake”, and the violent upending of the French aristocracy of 1790. I figured that, if people didn’t want to talk politics, and turn away from graphic imagery that artists tend to capture, then I would make it more palatable for them. Hence, the cupcakes.

I wanted to make them bold and vibrant, not only to be eye catching, but to be representational of what’s happening not only in our country, but also how our country interacts on a global stage. The backgrounds deliberately echo the Progress Pride Flag and how Canada leads the world in acceptance.

At first, I didn’t know how many I wanted to make. Every time another threat slithered onto the headlines, the urge to “paint it out” would produce another cupcake.

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After Chantal Kreviazuk bravely altered the lyrics of our national anthem at the 4 Nations Canada-USA final game, there was a massive surge in a Canada wide support for each province, and that’s when I decided I would make a total of 13 cupcakes, one of each of our provinces and territories.

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The opinions expressed here are that of my own, and may not reflect those of Handworks, the staff, or any of the other artists represented here.

 

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