15″x11″; vintage collage, watercolour, prints from the Mackenzie House press; 2023. Courtesy of the artist.
COLLAGE ON VIEW
My house too
at the Mackenzie House in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
16 December 2023-7 January 2024
The show, “My house too”, is the product of a five-week exploration of analogue collage in combination with the histories and materials found at Mackenzie House. Mackenzie House selected five youth to create this show based on the strength of their portfolios. Danielle Cole, a Toronto-based collage artist, designed a program which allowed the youth to explore creating art using analogue collage in combination with image blocks and prints pulled from Mackenzie House’s 1845 printing press. Collage is a barrier-free art form that requires no formal training or expensive materials, as such, it has often been used by women, activists or added to imagery by outsider artists exploring clear and immediate ways to communicate their messages.
“My house too” is the visual essay written in collaboration between the artists using the media of collage and their exploration of themes during their time at Mackenzie House. The artists were interested in the call for social and political reforms put forth by William Lyon Mackenzie, but most were compelled in their work by unseen or underrepresented people such as Mary Ann Shadd, and others players in the stories of change and rebellions that are often untold.
Hannah Lamont writes about the work pictured above:
This work is a reflection on the common misconception that all people have the same opportunities. Not everyone can have what they desire, as many occupations have been designated to certain demographics for centuries. Many people have been forced to make their own places in the world, as they have been silenced and looked down upon in the past. The piece is heavily inspired by William Lyon Mackenzie and his work to change the treatment of his fellow men. It is built on a replica of the wallpaper in Mackenzie House, and it uses images pulled from Mackenzie’s original printing press.
(text adapted from material provided by Danielle Cole)
INFORMATION
Mackenzie House
82 Bond Street
Toronto, Ontario M5B 1X2 Canada
(416) 392-6915
Hours:
Wednesday-Sunday, 11AM-4PM