Self taught in drawing and painting, Ila Mira uses abstract and figurative techniques in her work. She abstracts bodily functions and the visceral into poetic or metaphorical gesture as a means of escape from physical monotony. Things like digestion, for example, are romanticized and given a spiritual narrative. Ila’s figurative paintings represent relational dynamics and explore states of being such as loneliness, connection, apathy, hunger, confrontation, ecstasy etc. She often depicts figures in isolation and solitude, leaving the line slightly blurred as to which state is truly being occupied. Ila explores the conscious vs. subconscious in her work and paints her figures ambiguously alike. It is intentionally unclear if two figures are individuals or one person being represented in relation to themselves (or both). Her paintings explore internal story telling; considering the psyche as a factory for generating never ending narratives Ila represents these narratives using the emotional landscapes where we relate to each other and to our selves. Recurring themes of transformation, myth and mysticism are applied as salves to imaginal social negotiations, negotiations with one’s self and with desires.

Ila attended OCADU in Toronto for digital media and performance art. She grew up with her mother and aunt; both painters at the time attending Emily Carr University in Vancouver and her father studying to be a psychologist. Her grandfather was a house painter; he taught her how to hold a brush. She is currently based between Toronto and Lisbon.