She Also Served

Sophia Borowska honours Canadian Women's Army Corp (CWAC) volunteer Brenda Diamond in a visual style harkening back to Diamond’s Polish roots. Wycinanki, Polish paper cutting, most often are symmetrical compositions created by folding a piece of black paper in half and cutting out decorative figurative designs. Wycinanki would not traditionally deal with difficult subject-matter such as war, but Borowska was intrigued by the idea of subverting a craft that is so iconically Polish to tell real-life stories like Brenda Diamond's. In this work, one can see both the light-hearted and the dark and menacing aspects of Diamond’s life interwoven into the design. One can see references to Diamond’s early life in Poland, to her service with CWAC’s army theatre in London, and to the bombings and fires she would have lived through during the War.

Montreal artist Sophia Borowska works in fibres, sculpture, photography and installation.  She graduated with a BFA, with great distinction, from Concordia University and holds a diploma in Textiles from Capilano University.  Sophia has exhibited across Canada.

For more information on the featured servicewoman see

Brenda Diamond (Fishauf), She Also Serves Website