Drawing inspiration from the 2023 curatorial theme, Breaking Ground, Johnnie Walker, in partnership with curator Ashley McKenzie-Barnes, will be championing the work of three internationally renowned female Canadian artists known for defying the status quo to create an installation that takes bold strides towards progress, and pushes boundaries to move culture forward for all.
Experience Lido Pimienta’s landscape of textiles and soft sculptures inspired by memories of her childhood and her grandmother’s house. Her large-scale pieces will use patterns and colours of traditional textiles and fabrics honouring her family’s lineage of skilled weavers who preserved Wayuu culture.
THE MAZE of ABUNDANCE, is a commentary on the Toronto Housing Insecurity crisis and how it affects single mothers. As a young single mother myself, the thought of not being able to provide a safe home for my children has always been taxing. Housing insecurity affects women and forces many of them to live in shelters, leaving the future of these women and their children in the hands of fate. The Maze of Abundance, is an installation seeking to evoke safe shelter, soft landings and memories of childhood, when the laps and embraces from our grandmothers and mothers became the safest shelter, and the homes we needed at that moment. Home security and ownership is a dream for so many women, head of their households, and this maze is a poem to the young artist-single mother that came to the city of Toronto 11 years ago, to find her place in the world.
