“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”

— Charles Bukowski

In her exhibition, “I wanted the whole world or nothing”, Shannon Pawliw delves into the mysterious narratives of youth, where disaster hovers on the horizon but remains distant, almost mythical. The paintings draw from the torturous yet wildly free space of preteen and early teen years—a time marked by a belief in invulnerability, when everything still seems possible, despite the first inklings of impending doom.

Growing up, Shannon Pawliw and her cousin would sneak out of the house in the dead of night, drawn by the quiet allure of their sleeping neighbourhood. Under the cover of darkness, they prowled the streets, exploring the world when it felt like their own secret domain. There was something thrilling about those late-night escapades, a sense of invincibility that only came from being young and free. They would eventually find their way to the all-night donut shop, where they would sit for hours, sipping sugary drinks and laughing as the world outside remained still and quiet.

These nocturnal adventures were more than just a rebellion; they were moments of connection and discovery—of pushing against boundaries while the world around them slumbered. In these small, stolen hours, they felt both untouchable and on the cusp of something larger, with the first hints of adulthood looming on the horizon. Pawliw’s work channels this tension between the fearless exploration of youth and the underlying, often unspoken, sense that these carefree moments may not last forever.

In these moments, the wild oblivion to disaster collides with the burgeoning responsibilities of being a ‘grownup’. Pawliw’s exploration of this precarious time—the cusp of adulthood—examines how childhood’s carefree rebellion is slowly shaped by societal expectations, particularly around gender roles. At the age of 12, she often existed in the in-between, where freedom met confinement, and limitless possibility felt tethered by subtle boundaries.

Her exhibition title, inspired by the Charles Bukowski quote (“I wasn’t much of a petty thief. I wanted the whole world or nothing.”- Post Office), echoes this theme. Like the desire to grasp everything or be left with nothing, the work captures the push and pull between innocence and awareness, disaster and adventure. Pawliw’s art becomes a space where the edges of childhood blur into adulthood, and the invincibility of youth collides with the realities of growing up.

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MEDIUMS

oil painting, various

ARTIST BIO

Shannon Pawliw (she/her) is a Canadian artist known for her abstract paintings and thought-provoking conceptual installations. Her work is colourful, immersive, bold and rooted in organic forms and expressive gestures.

Pawliw embarks on exploratory series’ driven by her fascination with a myriad of ideas, practices, and concepts. From the realms of time and memory to artistic labour and the microbial world, her creations evolve into fantastical objects that blend imagination with reality. At the core of her artistic endeavours lies a profound inclination to observe, romanticize, and fantasize about various facets of our shared humanity and collective experiences.