www.ohdearnorthyork.blogspot.com
The exhibition explores the collective forming of a suburban North York culture by pairing 7 artists with 7 locations along this spine. Oh Dear's installations are located in and around the North York Centre: Toronto Centre for the Arts (1987, Zeidler Roberts Architects), Gibson House Museum (1850's Georgian Revival home of renown surveyor David Gibson), North York Civic Centre (1981, Adamson Associates) and Mel Lastman Square (1990, Kirkland Partnership/Novita), North York Central Library and promenade within the North York Centre (1987, Moriyama and Teshima), Ontario Historical Society's Historic John McKenzie House (1913, styled Queen Anne Revival/Arts and Crafts). Other notable buildings in this zone include; Toronto District School Board, (1970, Mathers & Haldenby), the Joseph Sheppard Federal Building (1977, Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners), The Nestle Building (1994, Strong & Voisey Architects) and The Claude Watson School for the Arts (2007, Kohn Shnier Architects).
- excerpt from curatorial statement by Paola Poletto
This was a summer long group of installations situated in the North York (Toronto) centre. It brought together cultural buildings with artists who live/lived in the area: Matthew Blackett, Ian Chodikoff, Otino Corsano, Stephen Cruise, Bailey Govier, Joseph Muscat and myself. Writers were Teresa Casas, Paul Hong and Mark Warrick. Brochure and site signs by Beehive Design. Supported by Ontario Arts Council, North York Arts and participating sites. The blog details the installations and project. We held weekly artist talks as part of the Cultura Festival and I planned a Jane's Walk to preview the area. All images below by Stephen Cruise.
Mural by Bailey Govier
at Gibson Square/Gibson Museum
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Sculpture by Joseph Muscat at Mel Eastman Square |
Sculpture by Stephen Cruise at Gibson Museum |
Postcard drop-off station by Stephen Cruise at North York Centre Library |
Map by Matthew Blackett at North York Centre |
Videos by Otino Corsano at North York Performing Art Centre |
Photographs by Ian Chodikoff at North York Civic Centre |
Installation by Paola Poletto at Ontario Historical Society/McKenzie Historical House |
Local lore has it that the nitrogen-rich soil of Willowdale makes for vibrant yellow roses, yet in a hundred times… the rose petals have faded to a delicate brown-tinged pale hue. The artist has subverted the mass-produced iconic shapes of the food containers, covering them with faded organic membranes by hand. There is a deliberate scrambling of opposites: inside and out, surface and form, preservative receptacle and organic matter.
Excerpted from Teresa Casas' response to A Hundred Times: The Excesses of Daily Living