Stacey Tyrell’s current body of work predominantly deals with themes of identity, race and heritage as it relates to preconceived notions of Euro-centric beauty and heritage within postcolonial societies.  The title of the series, Backra Bluid, draws from words of both West Indian and Scottish origins.  The term “Backra” is an archaic Caribbean slang of West African origin meaning white master or white person and “Bluid” is the Scottish word for the blood of men or animals as well as kin.

Tyrell (b. 1978) is a photo-based conceptual artist. She was born and raised in Toronto, ON to parents of Nevisian heritage. She attended OCAD University from 1997-2001, where she Majored in Photography.  Her images have appeared in shows at the Power Plant, Toronto, ON; the Scottish National Gallery of Fine Art, Edinburgh, Scotland; The Red Line Museum, Colorado USA, and the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON.  An iteration of this exhibition was recently on display at SPAO Gallery Photographic Arts Centre, Ottawa,  ON.