Esther Calixte-Bea's 'Welcome to Canada' illustrates a black-indigenous
woman with a unibrow and visible arm hair smoking a cigarette in a landscape. She is
covered by detailed drapery with illustrations of maple leaves surrounded by crows and
legless Canadian birds. The issue addressed in the painting is Canada's history of
eraser of Black & Indigenous communities. It also addresses the lack of information and
consideration of these groups as being part of Canadian history. The circle inside a
square or squircle symbol, created by the artist, has many different meanings. It is used
in Calixte-Bea's work to represent unity while simultaneously representing the feeling of
being stuck, spinning in circles, controlled & being blind. The work welcomes the hidden
face/s of Canada by putting them in the forefront and paints a peaceful scenery with
hidden meanings & disruptions. (Source: Wall-to-Wall Mural and Culture Festival notes)
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