Throughout Women’s History Month, we’ll be championing femme-identifying artists across the creative landscape—from design to film to fashion, and more. We know that the creative industry, like many others, often falls short of true gender equity—especially when it comes to executive roles and equal pay. We’re committed to helping femme-identifying creative professionals achieve their boldest ambitions. If you’d like your work to be featured, please email us at casting@creatively.life or tag us! And head to creatively.life to see all the incredible creators we’re showcasing this month, including Gab Bois. 

Born and based in Montreal, Gab Bois is a multidisciplinary visual artist and photographer whose practice blurs the lines between reality and simulation. In her world, donuts become hair scrunchies, fruit loops transform into ear cuffs, and orange rinds are no longer bits for the compost heap but rather…tea cups. 

Staging herself at the center of her powerful visual compositions, Bois exposes the spectator to her views on the latest cultural trends that cycle through our hyper-connected consumerist society. She has collaborated with top brands such as Nike, Marc Jacobs, Coach, and Balenciaga, among many others, and has participated in several group and solo exhibitions, including the Chromatic Festival in Montreal, The Coming World at the Garage Museum in Moscow, The Mania Exhibition in Manchester, and No Commission at Art Basel, Miami. In the fall of 2020, Bois released her first photo book entitled New Album, published by Anteism Books. Flip through its pages for content like a bikini top made out of sunny side-up eggs, or strappy sandals fashioned out of thorny rose stems—a cover to cover manifestation of creativity at its finest. 

You can find more of their latest work here. 

What is the first creative project you remember? 

I grew up as an only child in Montreal, Canada, and would do a lot of little crafts to occupy my time since I was by myself a lot. This could be making dishes for a made up restaurant that served dirt cakes and flower soup, jewelry out of flowers and grass, or a themed hotel for the neighbourhood’s stray cats. 

Describe your aesthetic in three words. 

Playful, nostalgic, and conceptual.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

There isn’t one specific project that has taught me more than another: this practice as a whole keeps teaching me new things about myself. I can think of countless lessons of self-discipline, perseverance, and humility over the years. Having quit school to pursue an art career, it’s been reassuring to look back and see how much I’ve learned and grown professionally and personally over the years without that academic context.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

Both can be true. I don’t think there’s one recipe for creativity, and if there was, I don’t think I should be considered an authority on the matter. For me, I do feel like it has always been a part of my life, but it has evolved a ton over time—it’s constantly fluctuating. I think everyone has creative potential because creativity is so broad. I also think it’s a muscle, and the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. That’s something very important in my practice, I regularly do brainstorming and visualizing exercises, just to make sure it’s still there.

What’s the last dream you had?

I recently took in a stray cat that had been coming to me for food for over a year, and I’m still learning the ins and outs of being a cat mom. I had a dream where I was on a sleigh that was being pulled by a group of about twenty cats instead of dogs. They were super cute and fast and I had to melt down some snow for them to drink. That was one of the last dreams I remember.

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

By then I’ll be long gone. My only hope is that my work can inspire the next generation, and that in 100 years people will be writing about their work.

Tune in throughout the rest of Women’s History Month to our Creatively platforms where we’ll be spotlighting women artists from our community, as well as the incredible creatives from The Locker Room’s 2022 residency.

Follow @gabbois on Creatively.

Creatively is more than a platform—we’re a creative collective. 

Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@creatively.life