Marina Dempster
LCCA & CANORAA PRESENTED
HANDS ON
A VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION PART OF “LATIN-AFRO FEST II”
Gallery 1313
1313 Queen Street West, Toronto
Opening September 4th, 7pm to 10pm
Exhibition run until September 14th, 2008
Curators: Amelia Jimenez and Sandra Brewster.
Marina Dempster
Julian Calleros
Alda Escareño
Karen Miranda Augustine
Gomo George
Stephen Fakiyesi
Artists' Bios
Marina Dempster
Marina Dempster’s technique derived from the pre-Columbian Huichol art of beaded imagery and wool/ yarn painting on the prepared bees’ wax surface of an object. Her current series draws from a fascination with the idea of shoes being an extension of the body through which we transmit information to the brain about the terrain over which we travel. The confounding high-heel, while being everything that pinches, elevates us in inches, and inevitably makes us more sensitive to the ground we walk on. “Sculptural metaphors are personal expressions of thoughts, dreams, intuitions and aspirations and are intended as a celebration of the collective human imagination”.
Julian Calleros
Julian Calleros’ mixed media collage work is fabricated on canvas, linen, old clothing, and rags. Fabrics and paper are glued and sewn together depicting doodles and pre-Hispanic symbolism creating a surface where portraits of relatives and close friends are painted on. The work reflects his personal history and culture, which have been cultivated by both Mexico and Canada.
Alda Escareño
Alda Escareño’s work over the past year has explored themes of family and tradition through a weaving of print and craft forms. She’s taken up techniques that come from her own family traditions, sewing, carpentry and baking, and uses print as a way of internalizing and making connections between them. She plays with the creation of pieces that invite an audience to interact with them; pieces that want to be held, read closely. Escareño studied at York University and Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, and is the recent recipient of the Print Media Award from Open Studio.
Karen Miranda Augustine
Karen Miranda Augustine is a Toronto-based artist, writer and videomaker. Her two-dimensional, mixed-media art is comprised of ritualistic and pop culture imagery, which has been described as “stimulating,” “rich,” and “meaningful.” Venues where she has exhibited and screened her work include A Space Gallery, Galerie SAW Video, OCAD, the Images Festival, Ed Video Media Arts Centre and Trinity Square Video. Augustine holds an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from York University. Her Web site is MorenaMedia.com
Gomo George
Gomo George is a Toronto based multi-media artist and arts instructor. As part of HANDS ON he will be exhibiting Soul Talk, a 22 component sculptural assemblage which presents a reflective reading of Andinkra symbols and their English translated meanings. This installation references a few approaches to African visual presentation, the use of alter like bases, application of Bantu colour coding principles, mask like facial impressions and bottles suggested as spirit repositories. The pieces anticipate the accommodation of the viewer in its presentation of the Andinkra symbols in a simulated utilitarian context. George’s work has been exhibited in venues throughout Canada. He holds an M.F.A. from the University of Western and is the recipient of many art awards.
Stephen Fakiyesi
Stephen Fakiyesi is a visual artist born in Lagos, Nigeria who has been using the wood block print medium for the past several years to realize his floor to ceiling installations which have addressed issues of social injustice, systemic racism, and violence drawn from historical and contemporary events. In his latest works social and moral concerns are considered within a more spiritual and sometimes humorous context. A recipient of many art awards, Fakiyesi has exhibited in many venues in Toronto and the States. He holds an M.F.A. in Painting and Drawing from the University of California and a B.A. in Art and Art History from the University of Toronto.
CURATORS
Amelia Jimenez
Amelia Jimenez is an internationally recognized multidisciplinary artist and printmaker her work explores modes of perception, memory, and displacement. Her works have been exhibited in Chile, Canada, Germany, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Serbia and Cuba. She has coordinated, and curated exhibitions of Latin American artists for Harbourfront Centre, Gallery 1313, Propeller Centre for the Arts, and A Space Gallery, in Toronto. During the year 2000/01, through a Grant from The Canada Council for the Arts, she was a curatorial resident at A Space Gallery, where she curated Hilando Fino/Fine Threading.
Sandra Brewster
Sandra Brewster is a multi-media artist interested in work that explores issues concerning identity and cultural representation. Her works have been exhibited in Toronto, Winnipeg, South Africa and Santo Domingo. She has presented on panels, conducted youth workshops and has been a coordinator of a variety of art presentations including Group of Six as part of bcurrent’s rock.paper.sistahz6 festival