Susan Campbell, Becky Comber, Robert Cruickshank, Hannun Lyn, Caitlyn Murphy, Sarah Peebles, Penelope Stewart, and George A. Walker
The title Workaday may connote the humdrum nature and trappings of the work world. Indeed the artists here might, on many days, look to the tools of their work as routine. But to the viewer, who may rarely see inside an artist’s studio, these objects can reveal the underpinnings of pieces and point to the moments of inspiration for the creative process.
Current understandings of art tools and techniques can be bewildering due to the role new technologies often have in creating and making. But whether cutting edge or traditional, the tools the artist uses are still extensions of the human hand, imagination and ideation. How an artist uses their implements, indeed the tools themselves, creates significant linkages to appreciate an artist’s work and the “workaday” matter that matters in art.
– Patrick Macaulay, Director, Visual Arts, Harbourfront Centre
This exhibition included my video, The Itinerant Planner, 2016. The installation title juxtaposes ‘itinerant’, which suggests the temporary occupation of a dwelling, and ‘planner’, meaning someone who designs permanent structures.
The Itinerant Planner is a tongue-in-cheek parody where the artist draws up various condo floor plans while capitalizing on the unique constraints found at the site – such as angled parking stalls. In the video, the artist plays the role of an itinerant planner, adapting marginalized infrastructure such as parking lots (where the artist rents vacant spaces at an hourly rate) and artificial rivers for the purpose of drawing up condo floor plans of nearby developments and performing walk-throughs. Realtors use the “walk-through” as a powerful online marketing tool which helps potential buyers to visualize how they would live in a projected space. In this case, the projected space is conveyed using rudimentary tools such as lane marking tape, duct tape, and traffic cones, illustrated with the artist’s playful doodles.
Part of the Toronto Design Offsite Festival (January 16-22, 2017).
January 21 – April 23, 2017 in the Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario.
Opening Reception: Friday, January 27, 6-10pm
Support for this exhibition has been provided by:
Susan Campbell 