MIXEDFIT is a limited edition of artist-designed T-shirts that explore notions of displacement and interaction between cultures and identities.
Millie Chen (Ridgeway, ON) reinterprets the idyllic chinoiserie motifs of Stroheim & Romann Inc.’s wallpaper design “Cathay Pastoral Vine,” commenting on the domestication of the fabled Orient as a projection of European desire. Chen’s work has been shown widely in Canada and worldwide and is included in several public collections. She is Chair of the Department of Visual Studies, University at Buffalo, SUNY.
Emelie Chhangur (Toronto, ON) considers the history of discrimination practiced against those of mixed identity. Her T-shirt is a response to Canadian women’s rights activist Emily Murphy’s intolerant views on immigration and race, which have overshadowed her contributions to feminism. Chhangur’s single channel videos have been shown nationally and internationally. She is Assistant Director/Curator at the Art Gallery of York University.
Hannah Claus (Montreal, QC) based her design on a Victorian crocheted doily – an allusion to the Protestant work ethic – transforming it to symbolize a colonial wound that reflects Native peoples’ forced assimilation into the dominant British culture. Shown throughout Canada, Claus’s work provokes a re-thinking of cultural, historical and personal boundaries, often referencing her Mohawk and European-Canadian heritage.
Stefan Hoffmann (Rotterdam, NL) reinvents pictographs and urban signage to comment on the alienation and longing of city dwellers separated by invisible but pervasive boundaries. His unique designs were part of an installation for Basili’s storefront window and were silkscreened on T-shirts during a public event. Hoffman has been involved in projects across Europe and North America.
Dan Perjovschi (Bucharest, RO) contributes an iconic image of two shadowed figures, poignantly expressing the immigrant condition and the inherent dislocation of individual identity. Perjovschi gained international recognition for his insightful, pithy drawings that comment on current global events. He has played an active role in the development of civic society in Romania and its contemporary artistic scene.
Jason McBride (Toronto, ON) is a writer and editor who frequently contributes to Toronto Life, The Globe and Mail, The Believer, and many other publications.
Design: Tony Hewer | Editing: Shannon Anderson | Photography: Isaac Applebaum
Digital publication to the exhibition MIXEDFIT
Presented by the Koffler Gallery Off-Site at Balisi stores in Toronto | September 21 to November 28, 2010
Curator: Mona Filip
© Koffler Centre of the Arts, 2010, in collaboration with the individual contributors. All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-920863-92-3.