Hard Twist - Toronto

Hard Twist 6:Touch Me, Feel Me  was an independent exhibition during the World of Threads Festival, held in the historic Gladstone Hotel as their annual juried show.

Jolie Bird (Halifax) wrapped gold thread around headphones but it looked as though she had gold wrapped the record player and the record as well. The exhibition title says Touch Me, Feel Me but Jolie's work had a bold 'DO NOT TOUCH' sign in front of it, which only made me think more about wanting to touch that gold thread.

Kali Brown's (Burlington) small, dark blue Block stuck on the wall was fascinating. It was so simple yet it strongly appealed to my memories of touching things.

Made from rope it had a utilitarian familiarity but I still wanted to touch it to remind myself of what rope feels like.

Kaili's work made me reassess what I thought I was familiar with. 

Gillian Collyer (Toronto) Bound

This work made me laugh. I thought about the chair no longer being touchable, how a soft tactile layer covered a hard surface, how the binding made the object unusable but mostly I thought about what fun this work would have been to make. 

A Day at the ROM

My 1st visit to the Royal Ontario Museum was a most interesting experience.
I got totally engrossed in artifacts displayed in the more traditional vitrines.
(above - woman's 'apron', Brazil)

In the newest area of the museum there are more contemporary display methods.
(Above - early 18th century silk on silk embroidery made to be an apron).

New display methods allow for satisfyingly close inspection of artifacts.
(Gilt and silver threads worked with silk threads).

Supporting images and artifacts cut down on the need for much text and help to place the artifact in context.
(Painting of early 18th century English drawing room where the women wore the heavily embroidered aprons).

However, the enjoyable viewing experience was deflated every time I had to move to another display area within architect Daniel Libeskind's 5 interlocking crystal forms built between 2 older wings of the museum. I found no natural flow from one area to another but I did find many dead ends. The architect's ego seems to have got in the way of meeting human needs within a space.

Yes, that door is on a disturbing angle.
Random lines on the floor appear and disappear making the walls feel insubstantial and temporary.

No, the left door can't be fully opened.
Acute angles are dust traps the cleaners' machines obviously can't get into.
People repeatedly kick unexpected wall protrusions and knock their heads on acutely angled walls then put their hands out for protection. The whole place is building up the patina of  a well used obstacle course.
If large mirrors were added to the walls it could possibly be more successful as a fair-ground type, mirrored, fun house maze. Ooops, that's a bit harsh.

Actually, there was one display area where I felt the jarring, discordant spaced worked. It was the most serious and emotionally intense exhibition - photographs of victims tortured by the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, Observance and Memorial, Photographs From S-21, Cambodia.  www.rom.on.ca/cambodia
Check this link and look at the images on the right hand side. The 2nd to bottom one, where the book is open for people to sign. I hit my head while trying to get in a line to sign the book - awkward!

El Anatsui at the ROM

After the World of Threads exhibitions in Oakville, Articulation moved to Toronto to explore the city while waiting for more World of Threads exhibitions to open. We spent a morning at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The ROM highlight for me was to see a work by El Anatsui for the first time.
Called Straying Continents, it was commissioned for the ROM in 2010.

Using his signature material, liquor bottle caps, he has linked them to make a huge metal textile.

 What I hadn't noticed before, when looking at images of his work, is how he snips the metal caps into lengths to make a metal mesh-like textile which is much more open and flexible than the textile of round caps.

 The experience of viewing his work was better than I imagined.
The way he controls his medium to work at such a vast scale is inspiring.

Quiet Zone - World of Threads Festival

More great work in the Quiet Zone exhibition.

Dominique Arlot, Black and White 1

Gesso and acrylic paint on old sheets.

With hand and machine stitching.

Catherine Dormor talks about her work resulting from her PHD studies.

Catherine talks about her work to Articulation.

Ingrid Lincoln, Joe Lewis, Catherine Dormor

Dawne Rudman, Festival Chair and Curator, Gareth Bate, Festival Curator.
These 2 did an amazing job pulling off such a huge event with overwhelming success.

Quiet Zone - World of Threads Festival

Maggie Tchir, Kathleen Hill, Earth Nest

Merino & Romney wools, barley seed, maple branches.

Kerstin Bennier, sitz.kugel - white, hand made merino wool felt, cotton fabric.

Catherine Dormor, Shimmer, digitally printed silk organza, silk satin.

This was my favourite exhibition of the festival. Each work was so quietly powerful.
The Winter 2013 edition of Fiber Art Now also has an article on the World of Threads exhibition with an image of the Quiet Zone showing that power.

Myth Making - World of Threads Festival

Maximo Laura Inner Cosmology,
A Peruvian tapestry weaver.

 

Our Intimacy

 

The vibrancy of the colour was arresting.
The latest issue of 'Fiber Art Now', Winter 3013, has an article on Maximo Laura's background, how he works and how influential he is.  Laura's website www.Maximolaura.com 

Variegated Threads

Variegated Threads, a World of Threads Festival exhibition in the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre, Oakville, featured an eclectic collection of fibre works.

Barbara Rehus, Thanks, Ma.
A mechanically animated installation that made me grin.

This intensely stitched and buttoned work...

...made Mikey of Mallory by Marie Bergstedt.

Fibre Collage at Abbozzo Gallery

This was a small, interesting exhibit where 6 artists collaged a wide range of materials in individually different ways.

Allyn Cantor, Dusk Treeline, cotton canvas, linen, reclaimed textile.

Natalie Bertin, Torment of the Heart, rabbit fur, leather, brass bullet casing, gold & silver pigment, bead texture medium, acrylic.

Alice Vander Vennen, Pilgram, new & found textiles, copper, willow, found objects.

Sheridan Institute Textiles Department

After attending the Memento mori exhibition opening I looked in on the textiles department of the Sheridan Institute.
Burners for natural dyeing and protein fibres.

Washing machine and dryer

Various steamers 

Materials prep counter

Vented box for mixing dye stuff

Long padded print tables and racks of silk screens 

Light table

Long firm print tables.

What a place to be a student!