Joshua Soodeen
Super Snow-Man: super stressed, man
The last few years have been difficult for most people. I wanted to illustrate something that not only represented how I feel but also something to remind me on how to handle those feelings. Super Snow-Man is a character born of trying times and even though he breaks a sweat he never loses his cool.
In 2020, I began developing the character of Super Snow-Man with the hopes of creating a graphic novel. Comic books and graphic novels always provided a means of escape for me as a child growing up. They encouraged me to be creative and taught me valuable lessons. My goal as an artist boils down to inspiring young people the way so many artists inspired me. It would have truly meant the world to me to see someone from my community, who looked like me, create something with me in mind.
About Joshua Soodeen
My name is Joshua Soodeen and I am a multi-disciplinary artist, who was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. I specialize in visual artistic mediums such as graphic design, illustration, and painting. Throughout the years I have produced art for presentation, worked as a freelance designer and art instructor for non-profit organizations. My experiences growing up as a Black, first-generation Canadian, in low-income communities throughout the city have heavily influenced my art throughout my 20+ years as an artist. Super Snow-Man is a character I have been developing based on these experiences.
My earliest childhood memories involve spending winters outside playing in the snow with my friends. Each day, we would make snow angels, build snow forts, and create snowmen. And each day without fail, the older children from the middle school up the hill would come down and destroy all our creations. This repeated every season until I became a middle schooler myself. Instead of setting an example and ending the cycle, I continued the tradition of destruction. I often wonder what would have happened if I had the bravery to stand up for the children, who only sought to create and imagine, instead of succumbing to peer pressure.
As an adult, I would realize that this experience was a microcosmic representation of what it meant to come of age as a Black artist growing up in Scarborough, dealing with limited resources and lack of access. The story of Super Snow-Man is one that inspires children to continue to be creative despite adversity and to end cycles of trauma, through bravery. The character defends a community built through creativity against those who wish to destroy it by inspiring and releasing the inner child within.