AGO and CONTACT present a transformative installation by Suzy Lake
(TORONTO, May 1, 2008) The Art Gallery of Ontario in collaboration with the CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival 2008 presents a site-specific installation by one of Canada’s most important artists. Suzy Lake’s compelling photographic mural entitled Rhythm of a True Space covers a section of the construction hoarding just outside the AGO’s McCaul Street entrance.
Lake has been using video, photography and performance art to explore issues relating to the body, gender and identity for more than 30 years. She consistently appears in her own work, transforming into various characters to examine issues of femininity, desirability and aging. In this installation, Lake evokes the fairytale character of Cinderella. Barefoot and wearing a plain white slip, she briskly sweeps the construction debris that surrounds her, an act that transcends mere servitude. Instead, the deliberate gestures in each of the six large-scale images suggest the preparation of something new, as well as the notion of beauty rising from the rubble.
“The AGO is extremely pleased to showcase Lake’s work in conjunction with the CONTACT Festival,” says Sophie Hackett, assistant curator of photography. “The festival’s theme this year is Between Memory and History, which ties in nicely with the Gallery’s current state of transformation. Lake’s work serves as a fitting response to the AGO’s construction, infusing the static barriers with dynamic creativity and mesmerizing rhythm.”
Lake has taught in the Studio Art program at the University of Guelph since 1978, and exhibits her work nationally and internationally. She lives and works in Toronto.
CONTACT is Toronto’s month-long festival of photography, which takes place every May. Since the festival began 12 years ago, more than 500 local, national and international artists have participated at more than 200 venues across the GTA. CONTACT is devoted to celebrating and fostering appreciation for the art of photography.
Contemporary programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts through the Assistance to Art Museums and Public Galleries Program.
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The Art Gallery of Ontario is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Culture. Additional operating support is received from the Volunteers of the AGO, the City of Toronto,the Department of Canadian Heritage and The Canada Council for the Arts.
