It's not everyday you get to celebrate a few milestones on a podcast, but here we are: Radio Juxtapoz not only has its 50th episode to share but our first trip up north to the good people of Toronto, Canada and our guest this week, Maria Qamar, aka Hatecopy. To call us mega-fans of the Toronto-based author and artist is an understatement. That Qamar has taken the comic book cel and transformed it into a bold, Bollywood style, humorous and honest portrayal of Desi culture in the 21st century makes her one of the most unique voices in contemporary art.

As she "virtually" opened her newest solo show, ME, MERASELF & I, with Richard Taittinger in NYC this summer, we decided to finally catch up with the painter to discuss a wide-range of topics, from her career in marketing and advertising, to her first forays into painting and her growing up in a post 9/11 suburb of Toronto that helped shape her content she makes today. Born in Karachi, Pakistan to a Bangladeshi father and Indian mother, Qamar's career has been a modern look at the Desi culture as well as modern look at immigration from Asia to North America. By using the comic book style, her works are personal stories and overarching narratives of contemporary life in one of the most diverse cities in the world in Toronto. By mixing the aesthetics of Roy Lichtenstein paintings and what she has called Indian soap opera style dialogue, her works have continued to bring a new generation of South Asia artists to the forefront and into the contemporary art landscape. And there may have been a K-Pop fan account, a food blog and a best friend call out in this podcast...

The Radio Juxtapoz podcast is hosted by FIFTH WALL TV's Doug Gillen and Juxtapoz editor, Evan Pricco. Episode 050 was recorded via Skype from San Francisco/London/Toronto, July 21, 2020. Follow Maria Qamar at @hatecopy