In my piece, I sought to look back and appreciate the wonderful memories I’ve had the fortune of experiencing. I was inspired by Betty Goodwin’s concept of immortalizing one’s prized possessions, and through Sempiternal, I hoped to bring importance to the visual art form as a preserver of time by sealing my work within the tool, a silkscreen, rather than an actual canvas. The sixteen objects on the screen depict the places I’ve been to, my interests, and the comfort surrounding my household, counting each year of my life. Seeing how little objects are on the screen made me realize how fulfilling my life has been for the time I have lived. The hands that reach out to the memories on the screen are a literal reflection of my process of recalling and being in touch with the things I have experienced in the past.

–Macsen Aguinaga-Qian (Grade 11, Cawthra Park Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario)

Montreal artist Betty Goodwin (1923–2008) changed the medium of printmaking when, in 1968, she began putting found objects through a printing press. Her Vest series arose from this innovation and earned her critical acclaim.