Saskatoon artist Carol Wylie has been creating art for thirty years, focusing solely on portrait and figuration. The inspiration for the portraits in They didn’t know we were seeds began in 2016 when Carol Wylie listened to a Holocaust survivor speak about his experiences in a death camp during the Saskatoon Holocaust Memorial service. Carol knew she needed to find a way of honouring the stories and memories of Holocaust survivors and used her artform to begin a series of portraits.

As the project commenced, Carol made connections between the experiences of Holocaust survivors and Residential School survivors, and included portraits of Indigenous survivors as a personal step towards the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. The project shares the experiences of 18 survivors through stunning portraiture. As shared in Carol’s Artist Statement, “these portraits will remain as echoes of individual strength and courage.”

They didn’t know we were seeds will be on display at the Gallery until April 26.