In our homes, there is a passing. The passage of joys and fears, time and traditions, and of food at our tables. These ideals pass through hands, that bare stories and wisdom, which we hope to retain when we are old enough to understand. When our own hands have developed enough character to take what is useful to them, and let go of what no longer serves them. handheld handmade handoff is an exhibition that weighs the idea of preservation through the passing on of knowledge, physical objects, and time. Ashley Culver, Gabrielle Trach and Lesia Miga contemplate these legacies through the lens of childhood kitchens, clothes lines and family archives.
Ashley Culver (b. 1986) is an artist and writer based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Culver holds a MFA from York University (2015) and a BFA from the University of Victoria (2011). Her work is in conversation with domestic space—particularly the kitchen—and desire for connection. She is also a butcher and a chef, who has cooked, at various times, in a children’s camp, in fine dining restaurants and run a meal program in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. She writes the column ‘Alt-Arts' for Cornelia Magazine profiling alternative art spaces in Toronto and the people who make them.
Lesia Miga is an artist, and arts professional based in Tkaronto. Her practice explores the body as a tool and an archive that communicates and performs presence and absence. Her work emerges from personal experiences with grief, and her research can take the form of discussions, rituals, and lived experiences. Lesia is the recipient of a BFA in Photography from the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCADU), and has exhibited her work within Canada and internationally.
Gabrielle Trach is an artist and maker based in Toronto, Canada. Working in photography and textiles her practice explores memory, sustainability, domestic spaces, and ideas of private vs public. She holds a Master of Arts in Fashion from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSCAD University. Her work has been exhibited throughout Canada in both solo and group exhibitions.