EXHIBITION

December 6, 2013 to February 8, 2014
Opening December 6, 2013 – 7pm

Plug In ICA
Unit 1 – 460 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Image Alana Bartol

Image Alana Bartol

TOXICITY 2013 is the inaugural exhibition, conference and workshop of a series of international exhibitions and symposiums surrounding the notion of toxicities in the contemporary world. This premier exhibition, co-curated by Dr. Melentie Pandilovski (Director of Video Pool, Winnipeg) and Dr. Jennifer Willet (Director, INCUBATOR Lab, The University of Windsor) will highlight the growing Canadian biotech arts community within an international context. To that end, TOXICITY will present artworks by emerging and established Canadian and international artists utilizing biological media to explore real and perceived toxic byproducts and outcomes affiliated with biotechnology, biosecurity, biomedicine, and biopolitics.

Image Tagny Duff

Image Tagny Duff

The works in the exhibition will convey the stories of the artists’ approaches to biotech and include research into: biopolitical conflicts in the real and virtual worlds involving NGOs, governments and corporations; energy control and the choice of fuel material and alternative energy sources; the causes and consequences of environmental change; the topic of environmental sustainability; micro- and macro-ecology; life, GM products, death and appearance. With these themes in mind, the artists selected present an array of approaches, from the humorous and playful to the deadly serious, exploring the ways we think about the origins of life, the scale and dimensions of living matter and the nature of nourishment, death, fashion and appearance.

Image: Amanda White

Image: Amanda White

The following artists have been curated for the exhibition: Trish Adams (Brisbane, Australia), Alana Bartol (Windsor), CAE (Buffalo, USA), Joe Davis (Cambridge, MA, USA), Tangny Duff (Montreal), Aganetha Dyck (Winnipeg), Ted Heibert (Seattle, USA), Natalie Jeremijenko (NY, USA), David Khang (Vancouver), Andrew E Pelling (Ottawa), Niki Sperou (Adelaide, Australia) Reva Stone (Winnipeg), Amanda White (Toronto), Elaine Whittaker (Toronto), Jennifer Willet (Windsor) with Jeanette Groenendaal and Zoot Derks (Amsterdam, Holland).

Read the exhibiting artists’ bios here.

Incubator

Plug In ICA

Toxicity is generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts As well as With additional support from:
Video Pool gratefully acknowledges our funders
Background Image by Niki Sperou