Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary
An interabled love story told through art with Athena Cooper
“I like to tease my husband that this exhibition is a giant love letter,” says Athena Cooper.
A self-taught acrylic and digital artist based in Calgary, Cooper’s relationship with her husband, Stefan de Villers, is at the heart of her new solo exhibition at cSPACE Marda Loop.
During our online conversation, Cooper lies on a hospital bed, surrounded by staff talking in the background, IV drips and medical equipment. She’s been in hospital since March, when she was admitted with a fractured left femur. “I’ve had about 40 bone fractures in my life, including the one I’ve got right now.”
Cooper was born with with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that causes brittle bones, and has been in a wheelchair since she was six years old. “I have a very ordinary life with travel, work, relationships and family,” she says. “It’s just that my ordinary includes a wheelchair and frequent hospital visits.”
Painting offered Cooper a different way to express herself and share her perspective as a person with a disability. Her new exhibition was influenced both by a 2019 Dr. Phil episode about interabled couples, and by her recent marriage to an able-bodied man, which prompted her to think deeply about relationships.
“Dr. Phil was essentially questioning why an able-bodied woman would want to be with a disabled man, implying you could be a lover or a caregiver, but not both,” she says. “I wanted to show that our relationship is very ordinary and full of joy, just like any other.”
Photo of Athena Cooper courtesy of Donovan Bissett.
Challenges and opportunities
As an artist, Cooper has developed a unique style of painting inspired by stained glass. She says her physical limitations restrict her working hours and limit her to paint small pieces.
“They have a lot of depth to them, even though they’re quite small,” she says. “It took me two years to complete all these paintings because I could only work about an hour to an hour and a half a day. Each painting takes about two weeks to complete.”
Her solo exhibition, The Extraordinary Ordinary Nature of Love, documents her relationship with her husband. Their journey — from meeting online to navigating a long-distance relationship and eventually marrying — is captured in detailed paintings of still life, landscapes and portraits, all in 8×8 and 12×12 frames.
Cooper says she carefully chooses which moments were important in their relationship, writes them down and then finds reference photos to bring them to life through painting. Each step of this process adds depth to her storytelling artwork.
One artwork in the exhibition is a painting of Cooper’s engagement ring, inspired by an earlier work titled “Find Your Heart.” The ring, featuring two clasped hands, symbolizes their connection and overcoming of all the problems. “It took me a while to get the confidence in myself in order to be able to have this relationship,” she says. “I’ve got it, of course I cherish it, and it’s wonderful.”
The paintings show their connection and their love for each other and the world. “Shared love of creativity is something that we really foster in each other,” says Stefan. He has his favourite painting by his side — a turtle swimming underwater among seaweed. It’s a painting Cooper gave to him early in their relationship, serving as a metaphor for how she sees him. “I didn’t feel like I’d been seen before, so it connected with me on a deeper level, beyond words. So that one is one that I keep close by.”
An Unconventional Couple, acrylic on canvas, by Athena Cooper.
Extraordinary Ordinary exhibition
Cooper is thankful for the funding she received from Calgary Arts Development and Canada Council for the Arts to support her exhibition, and hopes sharing her story and her work will inspire others to see the beauty and normalcy in all types of relationships, including hers. “The things that we talk about are things like, ‘What do you want on the grocery list this week?’ and ‘Who’s walking the dogs?’ and, you know, those kinds of things,” she says. “We get to have the fun moments, too.
To this end, her exhibition also includes an art installation featuring stories and photos from other interabled couples around the world. “My story is not unique, there are many couples out there with similar experiences, and I want to highlight that.”
“I think Athena breaks out of that mould and represents hope for people,” says Stefan.
The Extraordinary Ordinary Nature of Love is a testament to the power of love and art to challenge societal perceptions and create meaningful change.
Cooper’s solo exhibition is on view at cSPACE Marda Loop from July 30 to August 24, 2024. The exhibition includes 44 paintings that capture the world through her eyes, as well as her reference photos, digital mock-ups and in-progress artworks.
Left to right: Trusty Steed and Wistful Lola, acrylic on canvas, by Athena Cooper.
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