Sunday, May 28, 2017

New Work Toronto: Feminist Art Conference Residency

Looking at my French-Canadian heritage in the context of How French-Canadians became White Folks. My first opportunity to visit Canada brought me to Toronto rather than Quebec or Montreal. I made these pieces during the Feminist Art Conference Residency. I wanted to find French-Canadian "things" (non-food items). In advance of the trip, I'd researched "French-Canadian arts & crafts". From the crafts listed in my research, all I could find during my visit (with time/travel constraints) was polyester lace from the Salvation Army thrift store. Not quite real lace, but a perfect metaphor for my project, because I'm not quite French-Canadian (my maternal grandmother was, but she died in New York when my mother was two and we lost all contact with our French-Canadian relatives). I found French-Canadian manufactured bleach from the Toronto dollar store to bleach some of the fabric, and even items manufactured elsewhere had bilingual French/English packaging. At the dollar store, I also found Canadian versions of materials that I'm more familiar with, such as file folders (bilingual too!), bandaids, and white out. I got enough materials to continue experimenting with when I return to New York. Images of some of the new work below.

Nom/Name II
Materials: file folder, correction fluid

Nom/Name II
Materials: file folder, correction fluid

Nom/Name II
Detail


Visiteur
Materials: plastic name badge holders, file folder pieces, polyester lace.


Nom/Name III
Materials: file folders, bandaids

Nom/Name III
Detail

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Evacuation from Feminist Island!

Halfway through the Feminist Art Conference Residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point on Toronto Island, we had to evacuate due to "once-in-a-century" flooding. Climate change is real!
Toronto Island Under Water. source: http://imgur.com/gallery/zoVAI