Anyone who grew up in Toronto has watched it transform, both gradually and suddenly, over the span of our lives. Densification has transformed neighbourhoods that were once quiet and sleepy pockets, into bustling thoroughfares. A familiar 3-storey apartment building is demolished to make room for a higher density condo. The first of many new redevelopments around Yonge and Eglinton, an area of the city that has changed so much it has become synonymous with construction with no end in sight. The city we grew up in doesn’t exist anymore. The name is the same, and there are remnants here and there, but the Toronto in our head is different from the Toronto that is.
Whether looking at Toronto’s different architectural periods, or the ever-changing political ideologies that shape its future direction, many questions arise. How does coming back to the place you grew up change how you view it? How does leaving your home for a new one change how you remember it? Is it possible for one person in a position of power to shape and mould Toronto to their own vision, or is a city’s identity completely in the hands of its many inhabitants? The five artists featured here all have their own unique interpretations and viewpoints of what Toronto might be.
Daniel Huszar and Jeff Stephenson each look back at Toronto’s former ambitions as a world-class city built around the car, as well as older architectural styles that have been built over and eclipsed by bigger and shinier skyscrapers. In both of their works we see a city in conflict with itself, not knowing how much of it needs to hold onto its past, yet having to constantly reinvent itself in order to serve its population as best it can – to varying degrees of success.
In the works of Masoud Riyazati, and Adetona Omokanye, we see Toronto through the lens of immigration but with different approaches. Riyazati shares an inward self reflection on finding one's space here, while keeping parts of home alive. Using a persian rug as his subject and Toronto as its backdrop, he shows how his two identities—past and present—are simultaneously entwined and at odds with each other. Omokanye juxtaposes Toronto’s urban cityscape with photographs he took when living in Lagos. Finding visual similarities between the two cities, Omokanye is able to reconnect to his past memories of home while at the same time adapting to Toronto.
Narissa Ladak uses photography as a way to learn about the St. Lawrence neighbourhood having moved back to Toronto after many years of living abroad. This is the first time she lived in downtown Toronto as an adult, as she was born and raised in the suburbs of Scarborough. The choice of using a Polaroid camera adds to the fleeting nature of trying to capture her city during a time of great change. Taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, Ladak has crafted a personal account of the moments and scenes that caught her eye, attempting to connect with her surroundings instead of people during a time of great uncertainty.
This exhibition's initial intention was to show work from artists that explore ideas of subjectivity in relation to a place, specifically the city of Toronto. The collected perspectives of the five artists reveal this isn’t unique to any one city. As time passes our ideas of home are more fluid and ever-changing.
Curated by Arman Bahreini
