The Accelerators
O’Born Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
CONTACT Photography Festival
May 1 – June 27, 2015
In collaboration with Lili Huston-Herterich, Linda Sormin, David Miller, Alex McKay, Tory James
The Accelerators reflects the state of apophenia, in which connections and patterns exist perceptually—pull one thread and five more present themselves. In the same year as the beginning of the French Revolution (1789), gunflint, barrels of rum, mirrors, brass kettles, and lace hats were offered in exchange for a tract of land known as The Toronto Purchase. Marie Antoinette’s Bol Sein, produced at the Sèvres porcelain factory on the eve of the Storming of the Bastille, is displayed for sale as a limited edition reproduction in the December 2014 New York Times Style Magazine. Georges Besse, CEO of Renault, is assassinated by leftist radical group Action directe in 1986, the same year the Mississaugas of the New Credit submit their land claim against The Toronto Purchase. Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo, after his critical success with The Battle of Algiers, fails to complete his next film on the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero, declaring himself “impotent.” Drawing on events spread across time and place, and now re-situated in relation to each other, The Accelerators presents a de-territorialized, axonometric view; an impossible but all-seeing position that examines the network of contemporary social space and history-making, within a constellation of re-imagined historical moments.
press
Review: Public Studio Turns Images into Witnesses at O’Born Contemporary, David Balzer for Canadian Art, July 7 2015
Contact Photo Fest 2015, Canadian Art, May 6 2015
5 Shows to see at the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival, Canadian Art, April 30 2015