Suspended (2018)

Photographic installation, 66“ h x 78” w x 5” d, collaged imagery, inkjet print on archival paper, mylar, corplast, clear cling, magnets

Collaged photographs and drawings that mine childhood memories, reflecting the volatility of nature, community and identity. 

With a Jewish father and an Anglo-Protestant mother, as a child, Lynne Heller, a multi- disciplinary artist, felt a sense of displacement in many settings. Raised in a distinctly gentile part of Toronto where her Jewish background set her apart, her experience of Jewish community was found at the summertime family retreat Camp Naivelt (Yiddish for “New World”). Located in Brampton, it was centred on secularist, progressive socialist values, activism, and a celebration of Jewish and Yiddish culture. At one time Naivelt was frequented by up to 5,000 people on any given weekend. While growing up, the artist experienced it as a place of sanctuary and freedom. 

The installation references a poignant childhood memory. Visiting Naivelt in the spring off-season, Heller’s family came upon enormous ice floes ejected from the Credit River that runs through the camp. Unpeopled and distant from the bustle and heat of summer, the site was made stranger still by this dramatic scene. Heller’s father lifted her onto one ice mass, which was taller than her seven-year-old stature, and she observed debris and fish frozen within. From that vantage point, she looked back to the one-lane bridge, the only passageway over the river and into the property. 

This eerie landscape and recollections frozen in time echo the dislocation of Heller’s upbringing. The massive ice blocks were both organic and oddly unnatural. Similarly, Heller felt both integrated into the Naivelt community during the 1960s and 70s yet often felt outside that milieu given her mixed heritage. And this haven of radical politics was in itself outside the norms of the Jewish mainstream. The ice-covered land evoked the gradual deterioration of the site that she witnessed alongside the dwindling of the community. Naivelt continues until today albeit with more modest participation. 

In the exhibition, the terrain of memory interweaves with the textures of College Street as perennial graffiti markings on our window enter the piece, linking the past with present-day realities where the artist’s self-conception is firmly grounded. An image of the Naivelt bridge appears, signaling possibilities in connecting two seemingly distinct realms, holding out the potential for crossing into the promise of a new world. 

Photograph of installation
Photographic detail of installation
Photographic detail of installation
Photographic detail of installation
Photograph of the installation as seen at night, across the street on College St.
Thursday, March 7, 2019 - 4:30pm

Hybrids- Collage Workshop

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 - 1:00pm to 5:00pm

Come learn about digital and analogue college methodologies with Lillevan Pobjoy in this unique workshop opportunity!

Venue & Address: 
Advanced Editing Suite (Level 2) 205 Richmond St West, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Me and My Sister

Blues Manicure
Tuesday, October 28, 2008 - 4:00am to Friday, November 7, 2008 - 5:00am

This exhibit is about collage. Each artist uses materials with a connection to effeminate imagery. Layer and pattern are used to create intuitive narratives, and common materials are manipulated to expose new meanings. Featuring Drawing & Painting students Abena Asomaning, Marta Chudolinska, Stephanie Latulippe and Megan Speers.

Image credit: blues manicure, Abena Asomaning

Venue & Address: 
Transit Space 100 McCaul St., 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Fragments: recent collages

Fragments
Thursday, October 2, 2008 - 4:00am to Sunday, October 26, 2008 - 4:00am

Hand-torn pieces of tar paper, shaped and painted, find their way into woven collages, each a random arrangement, telling a story or prompting an image. Each one offers a filigree of colour, texture and structure, combining representation with abstraction. For alumnus Joseph Muscat they become a throwback to childhood memories of broken treasures restored, a parody on dreams waiting to be realized, and a metaphor of current events of matters on life and death.

Venue & Address: 
David Kaye Gallery 1092 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Passed in the Stuck

Passed in the stuck
Saturday, July 19, 2008 - 4:00am to Sunday, August 10, 2008 - 4:00am

While in Europe, OCAD alumna Tanya Cunnington began to examine the roles of the artist, both past and present, and realized that she felt extremely drawn to the past. She began to paint cityscapes as a means to express her strong interest in certain cities as they related to art history.

Passed in the Stuck is comprised of mixed media collages which the artist sees as symbolic of these pasts. They are urban landscapes broken down into pure visual abstraction.

Venue & Address: 
Loop Gallery 1174 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Collage Party

Sunday, March 9, 2008 - 5:00am to Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 4:00am

Derek Sullivan, OCAD Faculty of Art Instructor, is part of the Collage Party Artist Team.
Collage Party, Paul Butler's nomadic world-wide studio experience lands at the JMB Gallery and you are invited to participate!
On Sunday, March 9, join in this free-form art jam-session: make collages with local artists and take advantage of an exploratory, informal space organized around play, interaction and experimentation.
Starting Thursday, March 6, a select team of local artists (specializing in a spectrum of media work) will transform the gallery space into a shared studio/lounge, where invited artists will be free to experiment like an art school, but without the teachers or assignments.
From March 9 through March 12, everyone is invited to join in the activities; drop by the JMB Gallery to make some art, listen to music, collaborate, and see what the Collage Party Artist Team has been up to. Hang out and contribute to the creation of an autonomous zone designed to assemble, connect, and engage.
Artists in attendance on Sunday, March 9.
Supplies provided, but feel free to bring some of your own to the mix!
Collage Party Artist Team: Micah Lexier, Derek Sullivan, Roula
Partheniou, Maura Doyle, Tyler Clark-Burke, Sandy Plotnikoff, Anitra
Hamilton, Kristan Horton, Dave Dyment, Zin Taylor, Kerri Reid, Katie
Bethune-Leamen, Jon Sasaki and more...
Paul Butler is a Winnipeg artist and has organized Collage Party all around the world for the past several years. He is also the director of The Other Gallery, a web-based nomadic gallery.http://theotherpaulbutler.com/collageparty.html
http://www.jmbgallery.ca/events.html
This event is part of the U of T Festival of the Arts which runs March 3-20. Where Creativity Takes Centre Stage. For details visit www.arts.utoronto.ca

Venue & Address: 
JMB Gallery, Hart House, U of T 7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, Ontario
Cost: 
Free

Kathleen Vaughan: Finding Home

Friday, February 1, 2008 - 5:00am to Friday, February 29, 2008 - 5:00am

TYPE Books presents Finding Home: a Collage Installation about Self, Place, Community and Belonging by Kathleen Vaughan, OCAD Drawing & Painting Instructor.

Venue & Address: 
TYPE Books 883 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
Email: 
kathleen@akaredhanded.com
Cost: 
Free

Elena Viltovskaia & Shea Chang

Elena Viltovskaia & Shea Chang
Thursday, October 25, 2007 - 11:00pm to Friday, October 26, 2007 - 1:00am

Alumni Elena Viltovskaia and Shea Change present an exhibition of new works, some collaborative.

Their mixed media/collage paintings are currently on display in Yorkville in the RE/MAX Unique Office at 101 Yorkville (at Bellair).

Venue & Address: 
RE/MAX Unique Office 101 Yorkville Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
Email: 
elena@viltovskaia.com
Cost: 
Free

Instant Art on the Island

Poster with image bubbles
Sunday, July 19, 2015 - 4:00am

Material Art & Design faculty member Monica Bodirsky is holding a wonderful workshop this Sunday, July 19 at Artscape Gibraltar Point:
Instant Art on the Island
Laugh, learn, breathe fresh air and express yourself in a stress-free environment. You deserve it!
This workshop is for everyone with or without artistic experience. Join experienced artists Monica Bodirsky and Alastair Dickson for a wonderful day filled with creativity.
Learn how to express yourself through the art of collage or, if you want, try something more challenging by creating assemblage with a variety of materials.

Bring a lunch, hang out on the beach for a moment, breathe deeply...

Venue & Address: 
LOCATION: Artscape Gibraltar Point 20 minutes walk or 10 minute bike ride from the Hanlon's Point Ferry dock. Pick up can be arranged for those who need assistance to get to the facility. Time: 12 to 5 p.m.
Email: 
For inquiries or to reserve your spot today please contact monica.bodirsky@gmail.com for payment details.
Cost: 
$75.00 per person - materials included

Q: Are you an undertaker? A: No Q: Are you a service provider? A: Yes

Image of carved human forms in relief
Friday, November 7, 2014 - 5:00am to Saturday, November 29, 2014 - 5:00am

Work by OCAD U alumna Amanda Nedham

Opening Reception: Friday, November 7, 6 to 9 p.m.

Primarily concerned with the various taxonomic functions of history, Nedham’s works on paper exhibit a technical proficiency and enamoured exploration of natural history’s complex and overlapping structures. Through a process of abstraction based on the collaging of drawings, largely from television and internet sources, she attempts to focus on those moments that create tension as they challenge the governing voice of history. Nedham is the winner of the Ontario College of Art and Design’s Printmaking Medal. Her work has been ehibited in Toronto, Florence, and New York.

Gallery Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 11 to 6 p.m.

 

Venue & Address: 
LE Gallery 1183 Dundas St. W.  
Website: 
http://le-gallery.ca/
Cost: 
Free