The Books That Built Me

I’m a 29-year-old Digital-Canadian artist exploring the threshold of digital and physical

environments and bodies; Digital-Realism. I am deeply bonded to every artist who has

paved the path in which I walk myself. These artists are my saviors, my lovers, my closest

friends. At the center of my practice is the library. My spiritual connection to the Materials

and their makers within the library, special collections, and archives is central to how I

navigate the world. I have been constructing a body of work, building my own archive. My

body of work consists of performances, conceptual work, ephemeral objects, happenings,

and real-world gamifications.

I’d like my first encounter with curation to be for a public-facing exhibition within the

special collections reading room. This will involve curating library materials and installing

the work using gallery and archival protocols. I squirm at being pinned down, so my work

often falls within the liminal: purposefully disobedient objects that go against conventions

in exhibition, commodification, and object manifestation. My practice feels dominated by

language, a medium often overpowered by the ocular-centric nature of artwork within my

community.

Curating a space using the library materials which have acted as my catalyst would allow

me to manifest my art practice into a public-facing exhibition. Devoid of direct language,

the arrangements will non-invasively obfuscate any language from the materials presented.

This allows me to restrict and curate the visual field of the viewer while triggering curiosity

about the presented materials and their relationships within each arrangement.

This exhibition presents the audience with where I began rather than where I ended up. The

artworks selected from my body of work dictate the curation and arrangement of each

cabinet. The cabinets will not be titled, and my artwork will not be present. Library titles will

be provided to visitors for all materials utilized in the cabinet. My hope is that this reduces

friction to engage with the books that helped build me. My subtle presence may bridge the

space for newcomers to explore, get lost in, and maybe find a piece of themselves.

For the arrangements, I will see mentorship to utilize weights, pins, book blocks, and

transparent strips to hold pages with thin margins. The arrangements each stem from a

single work, each occupying its own cabinet. I’d like to gift a book with the guidance of the

fellows using award money. This would require lead time. I will present a material list,

photographic documentation and notes about the curation process and source inspiration

for each display.

Materials

Cabinet 1: NB249 R83A87 2016, N6537 S76S38 2018, N6537 B8A4 2013

Cabinet 2:N6537 B8A44, N6549 B876A4 2005, N6888 H2A4 2004

Cabinet 3: NX460.5 P47 2005, N7349 Z474Z43 2009, N6537 K384A35 2003

Cabinet 4: N6537 N38K73 2014, my personal copy of Live Art and Performance, Bill Burns,

Hans Ulrich Obrist’s Hear Us / Hear Use—a work I hope to acquire for the library