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Diana Bahr bio

ARTIST BIO

Diana Bahr

I’m a painter based in Kitchener, Ontario. I graduated from OCAD University with a BFA in Drawing & Painting, and University of Toronto with a Masters of Education in Developmental Psychology & Education. Whether I’m exploring ancestral memory through photography / ephemera and wax (Traces series), the science of awe (with previous work called The Small Self), or appreciating the patterns of symmetry through large-scale paintings of chandeliers and kaleidoscopic imagery, my work brings together a passion for psychology and art.
Artist Statement →

Traces

No contact without a trace: what do we inherit, and what do we leave behind?

Through my Traces series (what I call ‘mixed-media memories’), I create encaustic collages that explore ancestry and memory, asking: What do we inherit, and what do we leave behind? Using family and found photographs, vintage ephemera, gold foil, and layers of encaustic wax on wood panels, I preserve and reveal fragments of the past. Each layer is fused with heat and can be carved back to uncover earlier histories. This process mirrors memory itself (fragmented, reshaped, and never entirely fixed), inviting viewers to reflect on how memories endure (even as their origins fade) and the impressions we leave on one another.

About Encaustic and My Technique

Encaustic is a 2000-year old painting technique using melted beeswax (often mixed with pigment), that means ‘to burn in.’ I embed antique/vintage paper, photographs, and other ephemera in between layers of wax, fusing (‘burning in’) each layer with a torch, hot air gun or iron (creating different surface textures). As the wax solidifies, I can scrape and carve into it or build it up. Finally, I add gold foil, paint or other elements to create an image that tells a story.

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