Beautiful Losers

Ilir Xhediku (he/him) and Sandra Yuen (she/her) first met at The Art Studios about 18 years ago. Then when COVID-19 struck, they started to hang out and the rest is history. In August 2021, Sandra bought a used drum kit for $100 and started to jam with Ilir at a friend’s garage near the Drive. They would play for two hours, two or three times a week. Sandra took a couple of lessons and started to improvise with Ilir’s electric and bass guitar playing. Together they play variations of blues, shoegaze, rock, and surf music. They are an instrumental band influenced by a myriad of artists in Ilir’s library of music.

Ilir is a self-taught musician over a 40-year span. They play and create art to stay sane in an upside world. They paint in oils, making abstract paintings with stains and linseed oil. Their art style is intuitive, borrowing from Abstract Expressionism and French-Canadian artists and European Art Brut. Ilir’s stand-up comedy may be found on Youtube.
Sandra is also known for her house portraits, floral paintings and memoir My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery from Mental Illness.