A 2024 SPACE Arts and Sciences Certificate Capstone Project
Refractions investigates race, universal prejudice, and discrimination by skin tone with preference for lighter-skinned people (colorism). A multi-disciplinary exploration of Canadian and global colorism, Refractions is a QR interactive project showcasing snippets of scholarly articles, books, documentaries, government documents, newscasts, artifacts, film, and social media.
The goal of Refractions is to inform, inspire, and call to actions. Design components are invocative expressions of collegial studies in arts, culture, and graphic design. In the twenty-first century, colorism and its racist social constructs persist across the globe. Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC), still experience many of colorism’s systemic challenges. Although anger at injustice may be commendable, this project aims to be a catalyst for change without aggression.
Image: Wendy Lewis exhibiting her project during SPACEweek 2024
Wendy Lewis; visual artist, poet and Canadian woman of colour. Born into the Montreal experience a la Vico Magistretti, “look(ing) at usual things with unusual eyes”. Wendy Lewis is a graduate of the Arts and Culture program, and the SPACE Certificate at Dawson College.
Comments
Richard Ronald
June 5, 2026Wendy Lewis’s project is incredibly inspiring, showing creativity and insight that make learning about serious topics almost as engaging as playing fun games free.
Suihuan
June 14, 2026This is a powerful and necessary project — just the false sun (https://the-false-sun.com), Refractions tackles the often-overlooked issue of colorism with a thoughtful, multi-disciplinary approach. The use of QR codes to connect viewers to scholarly articles, documentaries, and social media is a smart way to inform without overwhelming. Wendy Lewis’s goal of being “a catalyst for change without aggression” is exactly the kind of constructive dialogue we need more of. Thank you for sharing this important work.
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