Akin Collective + Akin Projects are excited to present our 2018 programming in two Vitrine Galleries, one a recent addition to our St. Clair studios and our original location at our Dupont studios which launched on October 1, 2016. These miniature galleries will feature the diverse talent of our studio members with travelling installations rotating each month. Each artist will be featured for the first month at Akin Dupont and second month at Akin St. Clair. For more information about our artists and our programming join us on Instagram @akinvitrine.
The Dupont Studios Akin Vitrine Gallery is located at the Clock Factory Building at 1485 Dupont Street (entrance on Campbell Avenue). Find Akin Studio 215 on the second floor and follow the sign into the hallway around the corner. The building is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday to arrange a viewing outside of those hours please contact us at info@akincollective.com
The St Clair Studios Akin Vitrine Gallery is located at at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West, near St Clair Avenue West and Keele St and is viewable from the street level and can be viewed at any time.
Akin Dupont Current Exhibition:
'The Exfoliation' by Ghazaleh Avarzamani - June / July 2018
Our June/July Vitrine Gallery artist is Akin MOCA member, Ghazaleh Avarzamani. Through the notion of nature as a medium, her piece The Exfoliation, will explore both the geopolitical and intimate connotations of home — from exile, displacement, and refugeeism on a global scale, to the everyday and extraordinary realms of domestic life and hospitality.
Humans classify natural species by place; i.e., those that belong and those that do not belong to a certain location. Some plants or animals, which are “non-native” to a specific location and rapidly spread, are believed to cause severe damage to the local environment, economy or human health. These are often described as “aliens,” “invaders,” or “pests.” Increasingly, since the 1950s, both human and non-human migration discourses have used the figure of the “non-native” or the “alien” as a negative input for “native” contexts. The Exfoliation re-thinks the “alien” as an entity that actually constructs a new reality and brings valuable cultural hybridization. As a result, the idea of the pristine landscape and who defines it is questioned, as perceptions of “native,” “alien,” and “invasive” species profoundly change over time.
Ghazaleh Avarzamani’s selected exhibitions include Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium museum in Norway; Bocconi Gallery in Italy; Ab/Anbar Gallery in Iran; Asia House in the UK; Etemad Gallery in UAE; and Artmark gallery in Austria. She has been the recipient of Toronto Art Council in 2018, Ontario Art Council award in 2017 and the Red Mansion Art Prize in 2013. In 2016, She curated Jabberwocky, a group exhibition at Ab/Anbar Gallery in Tehran.
The Exfoliation
mixed media
2018
dimensions available
To contact the artist:
www.ghazalehavarzamani.com
Instagram: @ghazalehavarzamani
#Akinvitrine
The Exfoliation will be on view for the month of June in our Dupont Akin Vitrine Gallery, located in the Clock Factory Building at 1485 Dupont Street (entrance on Campbell Avenue). Find Akin Studio 215 on the second floor and follow the sign into the hallway around the corner. The building is open from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
The exhibition will then travel to the Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery and be on view for the month of July at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time.
Akin St Clair Current Exhibition:
'Becoming' by Kate Drwecka - May / June 2018
We are very excited to present new work by Akin St. Clair member, Kate Drwecka in our Vitrine Galleries for the months of May and June!
Her installation is based on her most recent project, Becoming: a 31 page printed horror comic, the first in a series of mini comics exploring horror’s ability to process real trauma through representation. The original pages measure roughly 16.75" x 21.25", and the final product is a mini-comic that is 5.5" x 8.5". This installation features some of the original pages, and a recreation of the iconic mirror and monster from the comic.
Becoming is a story of repression, denial of self, and how that presents itself in our lives. Laila is a woman who lives alone with her past, haunted by a ghastly figure living in her mirror. The reflection calls to Laila's unacknowledged history, begging her to confront her denied history. As Laila continues to refuse her past, the figure in the mirror grows stronger, to eventually manifest outside the mirror.
Kate Drwecka is a freelance cartoonist/illustrator working and living in Toronto. She grew up in the cold climates of Canada, and studied at the School of Visual Arts in NY. As a small child, Kate wanted to grow up and become Freddie Mercury. She still does.
Currently Kate is working on a series about an all-girl supernatural detective agency, and a series of horror comics. Kate is an original member of the Akin Comic Club and has recently helped organize our the Akin Comic Day event, a one-day celebration of comic books, comic making and comic artists!
'Becoming'
mixed media
2018
dimensions variable
Becoming will be on view for the month of June at the Akin St. Clair Vitrine Gallery at 1747 St. Clair Avenue West. Gallery is street level and can be viewed at any time