Daylen is a Queer, Black multidisciplinary artist currently living in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal. You can see their love for art in everything they do, like the matcha lattes they make for me in their apartment, the pins they meticulously place on their hats and bags, or their collection of Hello Kitty merch. In their apartment, in a classic Montreal building with an exterior staircase, they live with their cat, Ponyo, who loves to run around. Daylen’s art materials, chairs, tables, and much of their decor are painted in pink, Daylen’s signature colour. Daylen’s apartment is also the place where they practice their art: digital illustration, painting, sculpting, tattooing and more.
Their work juxtaposes vibrant colour palettes and body horror elements with themes of sadness, love, joy, pleasure, pain, and self-exploration. Effortlessly thought-provoking, Daylen’s work blends their inspiration from cartoons, anime, iconography and cute logos with the richness of their daily life, creating a post-modern, pop-art-esque celebration of their identity.
Daylen is a graduate of Champlain College’s Visual Arts and New Media program and has recently obtained a diploma in Graphic Design from Dawson College. Their work has been exhibited at Livart as part of a collective exhibition of the participants of the 12th edition of PICA magazine, in which they were featured. They are an engaged community member, and regularly participate in artist markets in Montreal.
-Written by Mariana Chajon Oliveros
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Which neighbourhood are you in?
I live in the South-West. I love the quietness and the access to green space over here. I lived downtown for a year, and that was way too intense for me. I’m originally from the South Shore, so I’m used to boring suburbs. The southwest feels like a nice compromise between city life and suburb life.
What do you do?
I do a lot! I do graphic design, illustration, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, tattoo and some other things that are slipping my mind. I really love exploring different mediums and tend to like to mix things together. I am really passionate about the visual arts all around.
What are you currently working on?
Currently working on making new pins, linoprint patches and a couple of collages I need to finish. I have a few other unfinished projects haunting the back of my mind that’d like to get back to, but I keep being distracted.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on Instagram @its.daylen and my tattoo work @tats.daylen
