Opening reception of e is for earth as part of the Toronto Design Offsite Festival #TODO18

 “Carneval” Oil Pastel on discontinued wallpaper

I will be exhibiting work made specifically for this show along with a host of other artists.

Jan 14th 2018, 7-10 pm

Dark Tools Architectural Lighting

750 Lake Shore Blvd E unit 2, Toronto, ON M4M 3M3

“The question, “Where does it all go?” has led many of us to look more closely at the incredible amount of waste that’s produced today, specifically in the Interior Design industry. More importantly, it demands our attention to address the larger issue of what to do about it. When we choose a fabric for curtains or a sofa, we never see the unending stream of material samples, often expensive, well-made fabrics, that end up as waste in landfills.”

– Eve Weinberg, organizer of e is for earth

Detail of “Carneval” 2017

Carnival is the name of the wallpaper used in this series. I worked with imagery evoking early traditions; excessive meat eating, disguise, sex, and parade.

Parade

Woodland Creatures

This recent body of drawings on discontinued wallpaper challenged me to give context to the material. Plants, flowers, trees, even landscapes are ironically depicted on this paper product. I created this body of work to honour the trees that lost their lives for the paper, and the creatures that once made those trees their homes. The Woodland Creatures Series features birds that live in the specific trees used for paper.

Blue Jay

Woodpecker

Owl

Dear

Fruit of the Dead on Yonic Wallpaper  The Yonic silver wallpaper had me thinking of Pomegranates. As they are a symbol sometimes of both death and fertility I was thinking about the deforestation and the reforestation efforts but also of our overpopulation and of species extinction.

House Guests  The focus of my work is a reaction to human engagement with, and responsibility for land use, agriculture, industry, and species displacement. The unwanted critters who insist on cohabitating with us is the focus of this series on wallpaper. Fly on the wall was the first followed by ants, wasps, grasshoppers, and moths.

Forest Cities – Biodome

A Favourite Quote:

“We do not have the time of financial luxury for expending our energies on abstract arguments. Our visual language needs to communicate directly concerning relevant issues and incorporate into our infrastructure ever present reminders of our vital relationship within the living systems of the earth.”

–  Baille Oakes put it well in her book Sculpting with the Environment

Exhibition runs until Jan 20th