Kriss Munsya

Lives and works in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Artist statement

KILLING DA VINCI (2023 - ongoing) is a visual story about leadership in movements toward environmental justice. This ambitious and ongoing photography project showcases communities directly impacted by a colonial entitlement to land, people and resources; in particular Black and Indigenous communities of the Americas that are disproportionately impacted by environmental destruction. In this series, Munsya draws on Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man (c.1490) both visually and conceptually to illustrate the consequences of exercising power over nature. Da Vinci’s illustration captured what was thought to be a perfectly proportioned ‘human’ aka man. Munsya’s photographs build upon the visual form of the Vitruvian Man and also stand in direct opposition to the concept, showing The symbolism of the position disrupts the ideal of perfectionism and transforms it into extreme vulnerability. The orbs represent the advancement of perfectionism and exceptionalism within society and technology, which are developed at the detriment of human and other living beings, as well as the environment. In order to bring this concept to life, Munsya photographed Black and Indigenous leaders from Salvador, Brazil; Cali, Columbia; San Juan, Puerto Rico; as well as New Orleans and Detroit in the United States. With the project continuing throughout Africa, Asia and Europe in 2024 and 2025. This project engages broad audiences in conversations about climate change and acts as a conversation-starter...

Artwork