Friends of a Sick Girl (2022 –)

Friends of a Sick Girl is a collection of live-action and animation shorts. Each short features a “friend,” along with their own personalized introductions including who they are, and their relationship to the sick girl, aka Da Silva. Whereas these “friends” are an assortment of anatomical body parts. All the friends are digitally hand drawn by Da Silva and are also voiced by her; beneficially due to the constant fluctuations of her abilities, it is hard to identify her style as that of one person. These friends of the sick girl work together to create a new perspective surrounding disability and the stereotypical assumption of not appearing as so. For Da Silva, many of these assumptions have been negative and traumatizing. It is her true belief that no one has to “look” disabled to be disabled. Throughout this exhibition, these “friends” discuss the everyday experiences and struggles they face as the interior, unwell parts of Da Silva’s disabled self.

Featured friends include Foggy B, The Textured Swallow, Handsy Hansel, Ailing Ali, Breather, Beater, TubeGirl, Leggy Leigh, and Limpy Lamont. 

BIO

Gabby Da Silva is a (dis)abled artist fascinated with the collaboration between digital and physical mediums. Within a conceptual approach, she makes work that deals with the documentation of events and the questions of how they can be presented. Born and raised in Saskatoon SK, Gabby comes from a close family whom she credits for their strength, especially when she was diagnosed with a neurological disorder in 2019. Her work responds to both her surrounding environments and everyday experiences; often accompanied by her own cluttered spoken word. Since graduating with her BFA honors in Studio Art, Gabby continues to practice as an artist, forever discovering new ways to express herself and her communities through art.