Known for making artwork that hovers on the edge of public acceptance, Diana Thorneycroft has pursued subject matter that often challenges her viewing audience. Thorneycroft’s The Canadiana Martyrdom series of photographic works mix conventional narratives of martyrdom with paraphernalia of a quintessentially Canadian type. Plastic figurines of animals associated with the north join up with Canadian icons (eg. Anne of Green Gables, hockey players, and the RCMP) in the reenactment of grim spectacles, which are at once dark and humorous. Through these constructed narratives, a unique view of Canadian tourism, identity, culture, and industry emerges.

Thorneycroft received her BFA Honours from the University of Manitoba in 1979 and her MA in Art at the University of Wisconsin in 1980. She is an assistant professor in the School of Art at the University of Manitoba. Thorneycroft lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.