My work on this piece serves as a metaphor for my loss of identity as well as my mental and physical struggle with multiple sclerosis, reflecting the grief and the loss of my past achievements to the sudden and violent progression of my disability…. Before the pandemic, the life I expected to lead looked a lot different than the life I am living today. I had recently graduated from my Fine Arts degree program with a promising future and was about to step into a role that I had been preparing for the last 5 years. I had an expectation for what was to come next, but the pandemic changed a lot of things for a lot of people. In 2021, after spending a year traveling, I returned to Moose Jaw, and on July 7th, when I woke up in the morning, my big toe on my left foot was numb…

                                                                                                -Jon Philpott

Jonathan Philpott received his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the University of Manitoba in 2018 and finished a diploma in Graphic Design from Red River College Polytechnic in the Spring of 2025. His work is an exploration of the material function of ceramic and the metaphoric relationships between earthbound materials and meta-physical connection to the human experience.

He often attempts to push the boundaries of the presentation of earthbound material towards the ethereal in nature and intends to persuade the audience that the work may not be what it appears.

“I explore themes of trauma, growth, and disability, in the larger context of human consciousness and our connection to the earthly realm.” - Jon Philpott