Contributors
The voices behind CUSS Journal's contemporary art criticism and cultural commentary.
Founding Editor
Martin Poole
Martin Poole founded CUSS Journal in 2015, a journal based in Newfoundland, Canada, that aims to reach a national audience. He also founded blarg Theatre in 2013, an arts collective that dreams of projects that migrate beyond the medium and pop up in new locations, alternative spaces, and the context of everyday life. Martin holds a Master of Philosophy in Humanities from Memorial University of Newfoundland (2018-2020), where he completed his thesis "Nimiety: A Theory of Artistic Creation, Interpretation, and Intention as Idle Feeling" under the supervision of Dr. Peter Trnka. His thesis explores why we create art, proposing that artistic creation emerges from an excess of feeling that seeks objectification to maintain equilibrium with the outside world. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Memorial University (2009-2016). To date, he has written poetry, short stories, plays, and art criticism. His current creative project, Still Like a Cormorant, is a collection of interconnected short stories that draws on his personal and familial narratives, tracing his extended family's history from the late 19th century to the early 21st century in outport Newfoundland. The collection explores themes of place, displacement, love, and the weight of time, including the extraordinary story of his grandfather disassembling and rebuilding his grandmother's beloved house during resettlement. Through creative reimagining of ancestral oral histories, Martin works to preserve and revivify stories that risk being lost to time, honoring Newfoundland's storytelling tradition while exploring universal human experiences. Martin is currently (2026) preparing PhD applications in interdisciplinary consciousness studies and philosophy, developing a theoretical framework that synthesizes Integrated Information Theory with process philosophy to examine consciousness across species. His research interests bridge philosophy of mind, cognitive science, neuroscience, and the arts, continuing his interdisciplinary approach to understanding creativity, consciousness, and temporal experience.
Editor
Mary MacDonald
Mary MacDonald is an artist, critic, and independent curator currently residing in St. John's, NL. Mary graduated from Mount Allison University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006 and continued her practical education through Zwicker's Gallery (Halifax) and the Owens Art Gallery (Sackville). In 2012, she completed her MFA in Criticism & Curatorial Practice at OCAD University and an internship at C Magazine (Toronto). In 2012, Mary organized the W(here) Festival, a performative exploration of artistic practices in rural Pictou County, NS. From 2012-2015 Mary was the Director of Eastern Edge Gallery, an artist-run centre in St. John's NL, leading over a hundred events, exhibitions, workshops, and summer festivals with local, national and international artists as well as an international video art series entitled Wade In. Mary is also an active member of the Atlantic Canadian arts community encouraging critical discussion about contemporary art both here, away, and in-between on committees, panel discussions, and social media.
Mary specializes in temporary and ephemeral exhibition structures and collaboration. Her research interests include artists working within rural communities and contexts, interdisciplinary approaches to curating, and alternative locations for contemporary art.
Mary will always be in the present tense.
Article Contributors
Melinda Pierre-Paul Cardinal
Mélinda Pierre-Paul Cardinal holds a Bachelor's degree in Art History and is currently a Graduate Diploma student in Communications at Concordia University in Montreal. Her interests lie in contemporary art and media that challenges dominant narratives of superiority from postcolonial, decolonial and feminist perspectives. Through research and critical writing, she aims to explore ethnocultural and gendered diversity within contemporary Canadian art and media culture.
Emily Deming
Mary MacDonald
Kyle Mooney
Andrea Monro
Martin Poole
Erika Jane Stephens
Dr. Peter Trnka
Tracey Waddleton
Dylan White
Graphic Designers
Émilie Coquil
Originally from the Paris region, Émilie Coquil has been living and working in Montreal since 2008 as a visual artist. In 2004, she received a Master's degree in Design and Communications Strategies from the ESAIG in Paris, France. In 2005, she received a Master's degree in Visual Communications from the BIAD in Birmingham, England. Over the past years, she has taken intensive training courses in Ceramics and psychology. With these skills, she is currently developing expressive and poetic sculptural work. She aims to push the limits of her medium by including photography and illustration in her ceramic pieces and by developing modular installations. Her artistic and creative practice is focused on the individual, she aims to discover what inspires people and shapes their multiple identities, one being at a time. She has exhibited in Paris, Westbromwich (UK), Ottawa, and Montreal. Her website can be found here.
Michael Mouland