You may spot a new art installation in downtown Victoria while you’re out for a stroll!
Local Victoria-based artist Ella Chay has unveiled her new mural in the Commercial Alley in downtown Victoria at the 500 block of Yates.
In an interview with Victoria Buzz, she told us about the application process for the City of Victoria’s “Call to Artists” grant through the Commercial Alley Project, as well as how she tackled such a beautiful large-scale work.
The Commercial Alley Project gives local artists the chance to create city vibrancy and submit their ideas for mural installations.
The grant’s monetary price is $4,000 and goes towards any supplies, tools, and resources the artists might need!
“It was crazy to think that I’d been selected and I haven’t had a big opportunity like this before, it’s been really new for me and it was cool figuring out how to bounce off the space.”
When asked about her inspirations and influences, she mentioned painter David Hockney as well as old fantasy films with theatrical, mystical elements are often what spark ideas.
“A lot of my work builds off of dream logic and reflects the irrational nature of dreams—so, unconventional relationships between objects and things that don’t make sense, and creating environments that are distorted and unfamiliar,” Chay said.
She shared that the idea for the Commercial Alley mural stems from other ideas she’s been thinking about and building for a while, and the dream-like style has become one of her signature artistic approaches.
It’s a skill she’s been actively developing since university and hopes to continue expanding—working with other mediums such as sculpture, for example.
This particular project gave her the opportunity to practice such expansions, and was the first time she’d ever worked with a space this large.
“I was really focused on creating work that interacts with the architecture…using [the building] as a framework.”
In order to approach a space this big, she had to spend quite a bit of extra time figuring out how to scale it, and making sure there was a healthy balance between filling the space while ensuring viewers aren’t overwhelmed.
The result is a stunning and ethereal peak into an alternate dimension, complete with pastel softness and the illusion of this dream world leaking into our own.
Chay graduated from the University of Victoria in 2022 with a BFA and Honours in the Visual Arts program as well as a minor in Film Studies.
She is thrilled to continue this momentum as she furthers in her career as an artist, and although she doesn’t have a website yet, you can follow along with her journey here.
A few quick “thank yous” from the artist included Nicole Stanbridge, Kegan Chay, Kaylee Jung, and Victoria Cheung for their help and support!
Chay welcomes everyone to go and dream about a world beyond our reality, so go and check it out!
