Sarah Penina

Sarah Penina is an artist living in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Her work inhabits a space somewhere between the art world and illustration. Her art is whimsical and uses vivid colours thoughtfully employed to create an emotional impact. Her artwork touches on themes of fantasy, childhood, escapism, loneliness, and melancholy. The paintings of ghosts are a playful meditation on her experience, as a deeply shy person, of watching the world from slightly outside it. Aside from creating artwork, she is an avid reader and collects costumes and kitsch figurines, which inspire her work.


Artist Statement

Growing up, I daydreamed non-stop. I was rarely able to connect with other children and struggled with lessons. I spent recess periods alone. On the school bus, I either rode alone or stared out the window, carefully ignoring whoever was sharing the two-person seat with me. I spent these stretches of alone time telling myself stories and listening to music in my head. I would become frustrated if someone asked me to interrupt my daydreaming in order to pay attention to them speaking to me.

As an adult, I’ve learned how to engage with others, build friendships, and make connections. However, I’ve still often felt stuck, unable to take risks or think long-term. My social anxiety, my avoidance, even the fact that I have never wanted to have children—these all contribute to a lingering sensation of haunting my own life.

As a way of processing these thoughts, these artworks play on the idea of a haunting in a more light-hearted way. The color palette, the specificity of the settings, and the goofy cut-out eyeholes in the sheets all hint at the joy, softness, and playfulness of life. They are hopeful. Sometimes the ghosts have friends or family, possibly sharing the burdens of these emotions, or just existing together in the same space.


https://www.sarahpenina.com/