Curatorial Practice > Galvanized Suns

Jonathan “JCC” Chan-Choong is a Guyanese-Jamaican-Canadian poet and writer, born in Scarborough, Ontario. Informed by a multicultural-racial background, one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Canada, and food justice, JCC's central themes include identity, the human condition, and social observations.

What happens when your identity is questioned by your own community? What does it mean to be a minority amongst minorities? A Glass of ‘So Real’ is a poem and a conversation about identity, self-love, acceptance, and familial history. As a multicultural-racial person, my appearance does not always match people’s expectations of what a West Indian should look like. Because of this, my origins have been denounced by both the Caribbean and larger Canadian communities. This poem is named after the hibiscus drink, sorrel. With its deep red colour, it symbolizes our unity as Caribbeans and the blood that ties us together.