Gladstone Hotel, Art Bar
1214 Queen St. W., Toronto
Role: Co-curator
North American Pop Food Portraits
A group exhibition
August 24th - August, 30th 2011
Photo by: Fiona McLaren
mclarenphotographic.com
North American Pop Food Portraits is a multi-media exhibition that will encourage your sleepy summer brain to get into gear, rejoice in the wonder of Wonderbread, and indulge in the aura of processed foods. This show is certainly a feast for the eyes that supports overindulgence and suspends the morality of making healthy choices.
Artists and semioticians Shauna Jean Doherty, Arielle Reed, Alex McLaren, Rachel Taylor and Shalini Scuba Makdani have curated a thought provoking show that is intended to be a shallow revelation. In the midst of a Green Revolution, North American Pop Food Portraits ironically explores the pseudo-reality of synthetic consumable culture. The exhibit inspires thoughts of nostalgia by sanctifying images of familiar foods, like Twinkies and processed cheese. Twinkies have a disturbing shelf life, making them the perfect post-apocalyptic snack.
As food becomes increasingly dislocated from its origins, the exhibition draws attention to the way in which we sacrifice authenticity for the allure of convenience.
The show runs from August 24th to August 30th and was largely funded by U of T’s Woodsworth Art Society. Come gorge yourself at the opening gala on the 26th. The spectacle is set to start at 7:00 pm. PWYC. A marriage of the sacred and profane. Bright colours and plasticity will leave you feeling much the same way you do after a burger from McD’s, not full, but different.