Sites of Reconstruction


Ignite Gallery is pleased to present Sites of Reconstruction, curated by Karina Iskandarsjah and featuring work by Jawa El-Khash, Qendrim Hoti, Marcus A. Gordon, and Nikole Hidalgo

 
DateFriday, November 17, 2017 - 1:00pm to Saturday, December 9, 2017 - 6:00pm

Phone

(416) 596-7538

Cost

Free

Email

ignitegallery@ocadu.ca

Website

https://www2.ocadu.ca/event/sites-of-reconstruction

Location

165 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

November 17 - December 9, 2017
Reception: Friday, November 17, 6 - 9 p.m.

Sites of Reconstruction is a group exhibition curated by Karina Iskandarsjah which features works by Jawa El-Khash, Qendrim Hoti, Marcus A. Gordon, and Nikole Hidalgo.

Their interdisciplinary practices allude to the complexity of cultural hybridity propelled by contemporary, digital diasporas. They also examine processes of translation in geopolitics by reconstructing and producing environments that exist in a liminal space. Various screens act as portals to parallel worlds where the real, surreal, and imaginary overlap.

Through the exploration of urgent political issues and comparable histories, this exhibition addresses the following questions: What role does art play in structuring ways of remembering? How do misplaced, erased or violent histories haunt spaces? And to what extent can art influence a critical understanding of the relationship between local and global issues? By bringing the works of diverse and experimental artists together, this exhibition encourages an open-ended dialogue in which a cross-cultural understanding is used to contemplate shared futures.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jawa El-Khash
As an artist in exile, Jawa El-Khash directly addresses memory, loss and destruction. She responds to her war-torn background by reconstructing and reimagining a virtual world for Syria's cultural relics and architecture. Through painting, digital rendering, collage, animation, and virtual reality, El-Khash preserves these artefacts while also creating a place for herself that she can call home. Her works bring attention to the current devastation of her home country, it also contemplates alternate worlds in which harmony is prioritised.
Artist website: http://www.jawaelkhash.com

Qendrim Hoti
Qendrim Hoti is a Toronto-based, Kosovar-Albanian visual artist who seeks to highlight the associations attached to objects by immigrants and to make an assessment of culture in its material and psychological dimensions. Through the use of consumer products, technology and mementos, Hoti assembles a hybrid identity to relive the psychological tension caused by his dualistic identity.
Artist website: http://www.qendrimhoti.com/

Marcus A. Gordon
Marcus Gordon’s practice involves the use of holography, photography and sculptural elements to disrupt physical space. He explores the relationship between light and space to produce uncanny aesthetic experiences. Gordon is interested in the foundations and future of spatial imaging, contextualising holography as an expressive medium that can contribute to the criticality of art in architecture.
Artist website: http://www.marcusgordon.com/

Nikole Hidalgo
Nikole Hidalgo is a Toronto-based video artist and feminist Mestizo-Latino woman. Her works utilise a wide variety of materials and techniques to convey a number of contemporary social justice issues — like women’s reproductive rights — in both Peru and North America.
Artist website: https://vimeo.com/nkle

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Karina Iskandarsjah
Karina is a visual artist and independent curator from Singapore and Indonesia. She is interested in exploring non-dominant histories, cultural hybridity, and the deconstruction of power structures. Because of her own complicated history of migration, Karina’s practice reveals a strong interest in the experience of geographically displaced individuals as well as ideas of inclusion and exclusion in relation to national citizenship. 
Personal website: https://www.karinais.com/

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Sites of Reconstruction runs November 17 - December 9, 2017 at the new Ignite Gallery, located at 165 Augusta Avenue (in the heart of Kensignton Market).

OPENING RECEPTION
Join us on Friday, November 17, 2017, from 6 - 9 p.m. for the opening reception.

+++

Ignite Gallery
165 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

Gallery Hours: Wednesday to Sunday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information please contact the gallery (ignitegallery@ocadu.ca) or visit our website: https://www.ocadu.ca/gallery/ignite-gallery.htm

DateFriday, November 17, 2017 - 1:00pm to Saturday, December 9, 2017 - 6:00pm

Phone

(416) 596-7538

Cost

Free

Email

ignitegallery@ocadu.ca

Website

https://www2.ocadu.ca/event/sites-of-reconstruction

Location

165 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

Sites of Reconstruction
Friday, November 17, 2017 - 1:00pm to Saturday, December 9, 2017 - 6:00pm

November 17 - December 9, 2017
Reception: Friday, November 17, 6 - 9 p.m.

Sites of Reconstruction is a group exhibition curated by Karina Iskandarsjah which features works by Jawa El-Khash, Qendrim Hoti, Marcus A. Gordon, and Nikole Hidalgo.

Their interdisciplinary practices allude to the complexity of cultural hybridity propelled by contemporary, digital diasporas. They also examine processes of translation in geopolitics by reconstructing and producing environments that exist in a liminal space. Various screens act as portals to parallel worlds where the real, surreal, and imaginary overlap.

Through the exploration of urgent political issues and comparable histories, this exhibition addresses the following questions: What role does art play in structuring ways of remembering? How do misplaced, erased or violent histories haunt spaces? And to what extent can art influence a critical understanding of the relationship between local and global issues? By bringing the works of diverse and experimental artists together, this exhibition encourages an open-ended dialogue in which a cross-cultural understanding is used to contemplate shared futures.

+++

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jawa El-Khash
As an artist in exile, Jawa El-Khash directly addresses memory, loss and destruction. She responds to her war-torn background by reconstructing and reimagining a virtual world for Syria's cultural relics and architecture. Through painting, digital rendering, collage, animation, and virtual reality, El-Khash preserves these artefacts while also creating a place for herself that she can call home. Her works bring attention to the current devastation of her home country, it also contemplates alternate worlds in which harmony is prioritised.
Artist website: http://www.jawaelkhash.com

Qendrim Hoti
Qendrim Hoti is a Toronto-based, Kosovar-Albanian visual artist who seeks to highlight the associations attached to objects by immigrants and to make an assessment of culture in its material and psychological dimensions. Through the use of consumer products, technology and mementos, Hoti assembles a hybrid identity to relive the psychological tension caused by his dualistic identity.
Artist website: http://www.qendrimhoti.com/

Marcus A. Gordon
Marcus Gordon’s practice involves the use of holography, photography and sculptural elements to disrupt physical space. He explores the relationship between light and space to produce uncanny aesthetic experiences. Gordon is interested in the foundations and future of spatial imaging, contextualising holography as an expressive medium that can contribute to the criticality of art in architecture.
Artist website: http://www.marcusgordon.com/

Nikole Hidalgo
Nikole Hidalgo is a Toronto-based video artist and feminist Mestizo-Latino woman. Her works utilise a wide variety of materials and techniques to convey a number of contemporary social justice issues — like women’s reproductive rights — in both Peru and North America.
Artist website: https://vimeo.com/nkle

ABOUT THE CURATOR
Karina Iskandarsjah
Karina is a visual artist and independent curator from Singapore and Indonesia. She is interested in exploring non-dominant histories, cultural hybridity, and the deconstruction of power structures. Because of her own complicated history of migration, Karina’s practice reveals a strong interest in the experience of geographically displaced individuals as well as ideas of inclusion and exclusion in relation to national citizenship. 
Personal website: https://www.karinais.com/

+++

Sites of Reconstruction runs November 17 - December 9, 2017 at the new Ignite Gallery, located at 165 Augusta Avenue (in the heart of Kensignton Market).

OPENING RECEPTION
Join us on Friday, November 17, 2017, from 6 - 9 p.m. for the opening reception.

+++

Ignite Gallery
165 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, ON M5T 2L4

Gallery Hours: Wednesday to Sunday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information please contact the gallery (ignitegallery@ocadu.ca) or visit our website: https://www.ocadu.ca/gallery/ignite-gallery.htm

Venue & Address: 
165 Augusta Avenue, Toronto, ON M5T 2L4
Website: 
https://www2.ocadu.ca/event/sites-of-reconstruction
Email: 
ignitegallery@ocadu.ca
Phone: 
(416) 596-7538
Cost: 
Free
Keywords: 
Ignite Imagination - The Campaign for OCAD U

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