Joe Kruger
I am a Syilx and Secwepemc artist from Penticton, living in Vernon and I am working on a Master of Arts in Human Rights and Social Justice. As an indigenous artist, when I choose to express my Indigeneity through my art I aim to do so without being derivative of, or feeling like I’m appropriating other indigenous groups artistic traditions and style, but through expressing my authentic self. My color inspirations sometimes come from Syilx culture, the valley, and my cultures oral history. I try to evoke an emotive response with my painting in some way, sometimes by prioritizing emotion and gestures over photorealism, and sometimes with my subject choices or the spaces depicted in my work.
