BLKVLY is Derrick Birkmann BFA. BEd.

I am a lifelong artist whose practice explores the tensions between consumption, beauty, and escape. After completing my Bachelor of Arts with a Studio Specialization at the University of Waterloo in 2005 and my Bachelor of Education at Nipissing University in 2007, an exhibiting fine art painter since 2006, I have worked as a freelance digital artist since 2010.

My work investigates how food, consumer culture, and constructed ideals of beauty are used to persuade us into patterns of consumption that often compromise our own well-being. I am fascinated by the paradox of desire — how marketing promises fulfillment while masking the harm built into the very products we are encouraged to covet.

At the same time, I am compelled by the idea of departure: of leaving the noise of consumer culture behind and disappearing into the quiet of nature. This pull toward renewal and reflection runs parallel to my critique of consumption, forming a tension at the heart of my practice. Through my work, I invite viewers to reflect on what we consume, what consumes us, and what it might mean to step away entirely.

The BLKVLY name is a play on the town that I reside, now known as the amalgamated ‘Diamond Valley’ it once was known as both Turner Valley and Black Diamond, Alberta.

My work has been published in numerous magazines and most recently I have had some engagement photos in PEOPLE.