Solang
e Adum Abdala\, Crónicas del Siglo XX\, 2023-25. Courtesy of the a
rtist[/caption][image_spread img_url="https://ahva.cm s.arts.ubc.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2025/04/2025-MFA-catalogue-AHVA-w ebsite-banner.jpg" caption="" width="website"]
Impos(s)a
ble Impositions
UBC Department of Art History\, Visual Art an
d Theory
Master of Fine Arts Graduate Exhibition 2025
Solange Ad um Abdala\, Mahsa Farzi\, Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa\, Sarah Haider\, Yuan W en
May 2–June 1\, 2025
Opening reception: Thursday\, May 1\, 6:0
0–8:00 p.m.
The Belkin is please d to present an exhibition of work by the 2025 graduates of UBC’s two-year Master of Fine Arts program: Solange Adum Abdala\, Mahsa Farzi\, Vanessa Me rcedes Figueroa\, Sarah Haider and Yuan Wen. This program in the Department of Art History\, Visual Art and Theory is limited each year to a small gro up of four to six artists\, who over the two years foster different sensibi lities developed within an intimate and discursive working environment. Thr ough interdisciplinary group critiques\, weekly seminars\, artist talks\, o pen studios and advisor discussions\, students develop advanced techniques and expand critical concepts to emerge with a particular direction for thei r studio practice.
Impos(s)able Impositions: UBC Master of Fine A rts Graduate Exhibition is curated by Melanie O’Brian and presented wi th support from the Department of Art History\, Visual Art and Theory at th e University of British Columbia.
Solange Adum Abdala is a Peruvian-born photographer and visual artist (b.1980) currently based in Vancouver\, where she is a candidate in the MFA program at the Universi ty of British Columbia. She holds a BA in visual project direction and phot ography from the Escuela Superior Tecnológica Centro de la Imagen. Influenc ed by her Lebanese-Palestinian heritage and experiences of migration\, Adum Abdala’s practice engages with temporality\, space\, territory and landsca pe. Initially focused on lens-based views\, Adum Abdala now repurposes prev ious works to comment on colonization\, incorporating drawing\, video\, col lage\, AI and vision-extension devices to invite viewers to re/de/construct their perceptions of the world. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Peru\, as well as in the US\, Europe and Asia. She has been recognized by the Prix Pictet (2022)\, Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamer icano\, CPNA Contemporary Art Award (2020\, 2024)\, American Illustration-A merican Photography (2019) and NextFoto Ibero-America (2014). In addition t o her artistic practice\, Adum Abdala teaches photography and in 2021\, co- founded Galería Pública\, a virtual gallery specializing in disseminating p hotographic production in Peru.
[caption id="attachment_35234" align=
"aligncenter" width="501"] Solang
e Adum Abdala\, Crónicas del Siglo XX\, 2023-25. Courtesy of the a
rtist[/caption]
Mahsa Farz i (b. 1992) is an Iranian artist whose practice uses irony and dark humour to critique power\, control\, sexuality and the political forces that shape identity. In 2024\, she was awarded the Joan Wright Hassell Prize in Visua l Arts at the University of British Columbia and received the Best Thesis a ward for her MFA at the Art University of Tehran in 2018.
[caption id
="attachment_35235" align="aligncenter" width="620"]
Mahsa Farzi\, Untamed (detail)\
, 2025. Courtesy of the artist[/caption]
Living and working in Vancouver\, Vanessa Merc edes Figueroa is an emerging artist exploring identity politics and critica l theory to create a visual response and evaluate her positionality as a ra cialized\, feminized individual. Figueroa’s work primarily functions throug h a diaristic lens\, exploring the treatment of brown bodies in the sociopo litical period to allow for reevaluation and critical reflection.
[ca
ption id="attachment_35236" align="aligncenter" width="620"]
Vanessa Figueroa\, Wow F
actor II (production still)\, 2025. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Yin
Mei[/caption]
Sarah Haid er (b. 1996) is an emerging Pakistani multidisciplinary artist from Karachi who is now situated in Vancouver. She is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of British Columbia\, working with the medium of smell to inves tigate themes of memory\, gender\, culture and storytelling. Haider holds a BFA in painting from the National College of Art\, Lahore\, where she deve loped her practice exploring the mediums of painting\, photography\, video and performance art to consider ideas of unconventional measurement of time and body politics. Haider was included in the Lahore Digital Arts Festival exhibitions in 2021 and 2023\, and participated in the Mantiq of the M antis residency project in 2019. In addition to her artistic practice\ , Haider has worked as an archivist\, transcriber and educator.
[capt
ion id="attachment_35237" align="aligncenter" width="620"]
Sarah Haider\, ! چلو کے چلیں C
halo k Chalen! (Let’s go!) (detail)\, 2024. Courtesy of artist[/captio
n]
Yuan Wen is an interdiscip linary artist based in Vancouver whose practice encompasses printmaking\, d rawing and installation. Her work explores the connections between nature\, materials and human experience. As a first-generation Chinese immigrant\, Wen draws upon Eastern philosophy and her cultural heritage to reflect them es of interdependence and transformation. She received a Graphic Design Dip loma from Mohawk College\, a Fine Arts Diploma from Langara College and a B achelor of Visual Arts from Emily Carr University. Recognized with various awards\, including the Audain Travel Award\, the Helen Pitt Fund for Fine A rts and Judge W. K. Warrender Award\, Wen has exhibited her work in British Columbia and Ontario\, fostering a deeper connection to the natural world.
[caption id="attachment_35238" align="aligncenter" width="592"]
Yuan Wen\, Rippling Roots: Cultivating A
cross Water and Land\, 2024. Courtesy of the artist[/caption]