Pickering residents passing through City Hall this month will find a bold, colour-driven artwork waiting for them.
L.O.V.E., a piece by multidisciplinary collage artist Jacqueline Mak, has been on display at Pickering City Hall since June 1 and will remain there until June 30 in recognition of Pride Month, according to the City of Pickering.
A work about visibility
The piece spells out the word "love" using hand shapes drawn from American Sign Language. According to the City of Pickering, the artist chose that approach to create a "double-take" moment for viewers.
The city describes the work as a nod to anyone who has ever felt they had to stay quiet or hide who they are, and a reminder that a person's presence alone can be a statement.
Scattered throughout the composition are Sapphic, Bi, Gay and Trans symbols. The city says the piece leans into what it calls the multifaceted nature of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, presenting the artwork as both a celebration of visibility and a reminder that love is an active force that cannot be silenced.
Who is Jacqueline Mak?
Mak is a multidisciplinary collage artist who holds a Bachelor of Design in Advertising as well as a postgraduate degree in Sculpture and Installation from OCAD University in Toronto.
Her practice, according to the City of Pickering, combines conceptual thinking with hands-on experimentation, drawing on both design strategy and fine art training. She works primarily with analog cut-outs, found materials and digital illustration to build bold, colour-driven compositions that examine social norms, consumer culture, identity and everyday behaviours that often go unquestioned.
Humour and satire also play a role in her work, offering what the city describes as accessible entry points into more critical conversations.
The artist is a longtime collector of magazines, books, ephemera and found objects, and an avid scrapbooker with a strong interest in illustration. Her work moves between collage, sculpture and installation, with a focus on materiality, storytelling and carefully constructed visual narratives.
See it before the end of June
The display wraps up on June 30, so residents who want to see the piece in person have roughly two weeks left to stop by City Hall, located at One The Esplanade in Pickering.
