hile growing up in Barbados, Zoe Osborne would go on long drives with her mom and uncle each week after Sunday lunch. As the small car traversed the winding roads, Osborne would stare out the window as the family discussed anything and everything.
It wasn't until much later, as she developed her craft as an artist and spatial designer, that she realized just how formative those drives were.
Today, much of Osborne's work explores Barbadian vernacular architecture, furniture and domestic spaces, and she credits those long car rides with her family as among her first inspirations.
"I didn't realize it that much then, but I realize it now," said the Toronto-based Osborne.
Osborne, who is perhaps best known by her pseudonym thezoekid1, moved to Toronto in 2012 to study interior design at Toronto Metropolitan University, possessed a thirst for adventure and a desire to explore new ideas and spaces.
While she maintains a design practice, lately, she's been exploring a new digital space with a focus on creating digital, three-dimensional art that she sells as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are digital assets that can take many forms—from static images to songs and video clips.
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Osborne created her first NFT in 2021, and immediately took an interest in the medium. Before long, in an effort to develop her practice, she applied and was accepted into the inaugural class in Elevate's NFT Residency Program, presented by TD. The program, run by Elevate—a Toronto-based non-profit that connects innovators to solve societal challenges — provides underrepresented artists with access to mentorship and funding to help them develop their craft.
Osborne said she not only found herself learning valuable information through the NFT Residency Program, which included weekly talks and panel discussions, but the residency also helped her gain a footing in Toronto's NFT community by connecting her with fellow cohort members through real-life events and online message platforms like Discord and Slack.
The residency culminates in an NFT Art Gallery exhibition at the Toronto Design Exchange, accessible to Elevate passholders during the annual Elevate Festival, Elevate's flagship event, which this year is being held September 20-22. Post this flagship event, the NFT Art Gallery will open to the public until October 16. Osborne is one of eight residency artists who are using NFTs to share—and sell—their work.
Much of Osborne's art is created to be three-dimensional. In it, she takes audiences into almost surreal spaces filled with vibrant colours and lush wildlife. Osborne said she wants the viewer to experience a moment where they aren't sure if what they are seeing has been filmed or digitally rendered.
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Since high school, Osborne said she has been fascinated by surrealism. And now, she uses bright colours to explore a modern-day expression of Caribbean culture, such as in her latest project, Window Memories.
"I definitely try to capture the Caribbean and the authenticity of the Caribbean as much as possible," she said.
"I think that sometimes with art, or just with people's idea of what the Caribbean is, it's limited sometimes... And I really am trying to diversify what that looks like. So sometimes I use colour to be surreal, but sometimes I'm using those colours to represent the way people paint their houses."
Osborne said she will often ask her mother or grandmother for feedback on her creations and incorporate their memories into her work.
Plus, she loves seeing their excited reactions when she shares her pieces with them.
Themes of home are apparent in much of Osborne's art.
"I would describe my work as an expression of my homesickness," she said.
"As a Barbadian living in Toronto, I found myself a lot of the time being between sleep and wake, like having a lot of dreams of being at home and then waking up very disoriented and wondering, am I in Barbados? Am I in Toronto? And I channeled that."
Osborne has taken her digital art around the world, exhibiting in Barbados, Dubai, Miami, New York City and Toronto. As she looks to the future, she's hoping to continue to push herself to explore traditional Caribbean structures from a modern perspective.
For now, she's continuing to create and showcase her art and gets a thrill each time she hosts a nail-biting 24-hour NFT auction (how NFTs are often sold).
Of course, whenever she gets a sale, her first call is to her family.
TD is a Founding Sponsor of the 2022 Elevate Festival on from September 20-22. Learn more about Elevate Festival here.
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