June's logo is a last 'symbolic' collab with the late artist, Preston Buffalo

Every month, we feature a new take on the CBC Arts logo created by a Canadian artist. Check out our previous logos!

Do not adjust your set. Pascale Jean is our featured logo artist for June and painting in rainbow hues is her signature flex. "It's like a primitive need deep inside of me to use so much colour," she tells us, and even when she's exploring complicated subject matter, a bold palette gives her paintings and sculptures an approachable and playful sensibility. Take this month's logo design, for example. The piece, which blends oil painting and digital illustration, references two occasions we mark each June: Pride and National Indigenous History Month. But the piece was also conceived as tribute to Jean's late friend, past CBC Arts logo artist Preston Buffalo. As Jean tells us over email, she sees this logo design as their "last symbolic artistic collaboration together." 

Name: Pascale Jean

Age: 25

Homebase: Montreal

Let's talk about your logo! What are we looking at?

This month's logo encapsulates a lot. It's celebrating Pride and National Indigenous History Month. And it is remembering a great Vancouver-based artist who passed away last year, my friend Preston Buffalo. 

Preston was a two-spirit Cree artist, and he did the CBC Arts logo in 2018. 

I incorporated important elements from his logo, but also added imagery of my own. Among other things, I added sweetgrass braids, a plant I know to be important to many Indigenous communities, and one of the first gifts I received from Preston. I also included the Pride flag in the background as a trompe l'oeil playing with the dreaded lost signal TV test strips, which circles back to CBC's broadcasting origins. 

What inspired the concept?

The idea of looking through archives to rediscover something — not exactly as it was, but slightly modified by memory. 

Important symbolic elements are there, while others have morphed. Through the logo, I also wanted to create something that would resonate with Preston's work but wouldn't be a copy. 

What sources do you often turn to for ideas and inspiration?

The news, my everyday life and current social changes are big inspirations. However, to recharge my artistic battery I go to local art openings. If I don't go enough I end up feeling artistically drained and cut off from my community. 

Are there any arts events on your radar this June? What are you excited to check out?

I will be keeping an eye open on events happening at Union Française de Montreal. I am part of their artist collective (Aussenwelt) and they always have something fun and artsy happening.

What's the project you're most proud of?

I would have to go with my most recent: a solo show in Mexico City. It was my first exhibition in Mexico, and the receptivity to my work was incredible. It was amazing to see my work come to life in that space.

What's new in your world? What are you working on these days?

I always have tons of projects brewing, however I am really looking forward to joining a very exciting Montreal-based art residency with the Jano Lapin Gallery starting this July.

Who's the last artist you discovered online?

One of the last artists I discovered online is Tyler Mitchell. He is based in Baltimore and creates colourful, surrealist art at the cusp of painting and sculpture. 

What work of art do you wish you owned?

Any piece from Studio Lenca. I love his work — the vibrancy that emanates from it, and the rich storytelling that emerges from his pieces. 

Where can we see more from you?

You can see more of my work via my Instagram page (@pascale.papercut) or my website, www.pascalejeanartist.com. 

This conversation has been edited and condensed.