Curatorial Projects
Skew-Whiff
Harbourfront Centre, Toronto, Ontario
January 18 – June 2, 2019
Emma Aurelia, Shelbey Dodds, Amy Duval, Avis Yu Han Ho, Brianna Gluszak, Jared Last
Curator: Emma Piirtoniemi
skew-whiff adjective [ after verb ] uk /ˌskjuːˈwɪf/ us /ˌskjuːˈwɪf/ UK informal. sloping instead of straight, or wrongly positioned: You've got your hat on skew-whiff. Bending, twisting and curving. -Cambridge Dictionary
The term skew-whiff refers to the notion of things being off balance; a lighthearted description of the dishevelment that invariably comes with much of life. As a premise for making and exhibiting art, skewed perspectives and unconventionality in regard to concept, material, or process, present a stimulating platform for exploration. With this in mind, the participating artists, all Artists-in Residence at Harbourfront Centre’s Craft and Design Studio, experimented with their respective artistic vocabularies to produce new modes and methods of making. The resulting works reflect their questioning, research, and insightful observations as they investigated ideas such as purpose (or lack thereof), perception, distortion, patterns, and relationships. The works deliver perceptive, playful metaphors and meditations on contemporary, mashed-up, skew-whiff culture.
Avis Yu Han Ho and Emma Aurelia
Warp/Weft, 2019
Warp: cotton thread
Weft: wool, polyester, cotton, printed on silk organza
Photograph on textile by: Michael Tuciap
Image courtesy of Brian Medina
Shelbey Dodds
Utility Post No. 1 – 15
Powdercoated brass, flock, steel
Image courtesy of Brian Medina
Jared Last
Coruscant Vessels, 2018
Glass, Graal technique
Image courtesy of Brian Medina
Brianna Gluszak
It Takes Two, 2019
Blown and cold-worked glass
Image courtesy of Brian Medina
Shelbey Dodds
Three-Phase, 2019
Powdercoated brass, sterling silver, flock, steel
Single Phase, 2019
Powdercoated brass, steel
It’s a Phase, 2019
Powdercoated brass, pigmented hydrostone, flock, steel
Amy Duval
Paradox: Draft/Burst, 2019
Ceramic, unfired slip, paint
Image courtesy of Brian Medina
Emma Aurelia
Move With, 2019
Cotton, beeswax
Image courtesy of Brian Medina