Morag Schonken- these are the roots that i've grown, that have grown in me

these are the roots that i've grown, that have grown in me
Morag Schonken

January 1-31, 2008.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

Supplementary exhibition multiple available for $2 each. Contact ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com for more information.

“Our bodies remember.
Every part of us remembers everything that has ever happened.
Every touch, every feeling, everything is there in our skin,
ready to be awakened, revived.”

Mary Morris ~Nothing to Declare~

Morag Schonken, born in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), is a fibre-based installation artist. She currently lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Morag has a fine arts diploma from the Toronto School of Art where she studied with Donnely Smallwood, Nicole Collins, and Andy Fabo. Her solo exhibition in 2004 entitled What the Body Remembers at the TSA Gallery in Toronto, Ontario, featured two bodies of work which embraced the use of fibre and traditional labor-intensive processes. Morag has been in numerous group shows in the Toronto area including the annual Shadow Box Exhibition at the Textile Museum of Canada (2005 to 2007); Amalgam at the Niagara Gallery (2006) and Art as Books at WARC Gallery (2003). An avid traveller, Morag backpacked through Australia in 2005-06 before returning to Toronto to intern at Propeller Gallery were she co-coordinated their 10^th Anniversary show, Propeller Turns Ten. She has since moved to Winnipeg to participate in the Foundation Mentorship program through MAWA as mentee to Shawna Dempsey. Morag was the recipient of the Barbara Barrett Scholarship (2003), Brian Burnett Digital Media Scholarship (2006), and the Foundation Mentorship Bursary (2006).

For more information, contact:
Tara Bursey
She Said Boom! Window Space
ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com

Stephanie Cormier- The Showoff Collection: July 2007

Stephanie Cormier- The Showoff Collection: July 2007

Stephanie Cormier
The Showoff Collection- July 2007

December 1-31, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

From Artists Statement:

“This installation is a development of the Dressguts series that involved aspects of community intervention and documentation. In this project 40 used dresses were purchased from thrift stores across Toronto, each dress was then altered with a short, inspirational embroidered quote placed discreetly in seams or linings. This process was documented and the dresses were returned to the same stores of purchase.

“While I had the dresses I used them as sculptural material to assemble and reassemble the forms in the Dressguts series. Since this project I have continued to create occasional compositions from my personal wardrobe. While periodically documenting my wardrobe I am also observing the way in which art making can affect my acts of consumerism and everyday choices.

“In The Showoff Collection – July 2007 I am playing with bringing a 3 dimensional aspect into the work. The process starts with 3 dimensional forms which are composed in a 2 dimensional plane. Here I am taking this 2 dimensional composition and reconstructing it into new 3 dimensional forms.”

Stephanie Cormier lives in Toronto, Ontario. Her practice is conceptually based and includes photography, video and sculpture installation. Stephanie studied at the Ontario College of Art and Design where she completed her BFA. Her work has been exhibited across Canada as well as internationally and has earned several national awards and grants. Most recently Stephanie’s work was featured in Carte Blanche: Photography 1, a publication of Canadian photographers and also Mix Magazine.

For more information, contact:
Tara Bursey
She Said Boom! Window Space
ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com

Amanda White- Anything is Possible!

Amanda White
Anything is Possible!

November 1-30, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

In this series of paintings, the subjects are advertisements from the back pages of old comic books. Painted with acrylic on raw canvas, the paintings themselves are meant to resemble cheap throwaway newsprint ads, and are hung in such a way to achieve that effect. Each image is enlarged considerably from its original size, revealing the fine print of the ads that were often full of misleading or false claims. Essentially the marketing for these products relied on the gullibility of children, and their belief that anything IS possible. Although the items themselves would likely result in disappointment for their consumers, I see the ideas that these ads propose as valuable in their own right.

Amanda White studied Drawing and Painting at OCAD, Art History at the University of British Columbia, and Scenic Painting for the Theatre at the Banff Centre for the Arts. She divides her time between painting, teaching and working in theatre. You can find her website at http://www.zhibit.org/amandini

Catherine Lane- Bird and Stomach (Cutouts)

Catherine Lane- Bird and Stomach (Cutouts)

Bird and Stomach (Cutouts)
Catherine Lane

October 1-31, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

Bird and Stomach (Cutouts) is a drawing installation depicting a non-sequential narrative involving a bird, hawk, fox and stomach. Possession of the stomach shifts back and forth between the animals as they lose, steal, kill for, or passively find the bodily organ. The work explores ideas of fragility and control surrounding the human body.

By removing sequence and leaving gaps in the story, conclusions are discouraged
and the focus is instead placed on the individual moments within the narrative.

Catherine Lane is a Toronto-based artist who received a BFA from York University, and has recently graduated from the Independent Studio Program at the Toronto School of Art. Her work currently focuses on mixed-media drawing and installation.

Lindsay Zier-Vogel- Annie Oakley: Git Yer Gun

Lindsay Zier-Vogel- Annie Oakley: Git Yer Gun

Annie Oakley: Get Yer Gun
Lindsay Zier-Vogel

September 1-30, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

Annie Oakley: Git Yer Gun is a paper and soft-sculpture installation based on an original poem written by the artist about the famed cowgirl, Annie Oakley. This installation reintroduces the historical figure of Annie Oakley into a contemporary context, highlighting the juxtaposition of Oakley’s the traditionally masculine world of guns and the Wild West, with a conservative femininity. The installation focuses on Annie Oakley as both subject and object, with a sewn paper quilt, two soft sculpture Annie Oakley dolls and various objects: the cigarettes Oakley shot out of the Prince of Prussia’s lips, feathers from the quails she shot as a sharp shooting child, the playing cards she could split in two with a bullet and the sewing supplies she would use to make her own clothes.

Lindsay Zier-Vogel is a writer, choreographer, book-maker and arts educator. She has recently graduated from the University of Toronto’s MA program in Creative Writing and is currently finishing her first novel. Her hand-bound book arts have been featured in a solo show at TYPE Books Gallery, OCAD Book Arts fair, Virus Art Gallery + objectorium. She is the founding editor and designer of Puddle Press, an independent publishing company, focused on art and text based limited edition publications. Zier-Vogel is interested in the intimate and invested relationship between reader and book and author/creator. Using new and experimental binding techniques and employing interactive, minimalist design, Zier-Vogel has created over a thousand paper creations. These include traditional hardcover books, soft cover books bound with hemp, books in sewn mull cloth envelopes, typewritten books, hand written books, books out of Erlenmeyer flasks, books on playing cards, books bound with wood sticks and copper, accordion style books that have been sold across Canada. She and collaborator Rhya Tamasauskas have engaged in The Love Letter Project I-III, a yearly guerilla art project involving the anonymous distribution of one-of-a-kind paper and fabric collage love letters. Her work can be found at: www.puddlepress.com

Toronto Zine Library- Selections

Toronto Zine Library- Selections at She Said Boom! Window Space

Toronto Zine Library- Selections
August 1-31, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

This exhibition showcases highlights from the Toronto Zine Library’s collection. Included are zines from the 80s to the present, ranging from literary and art-based zines to political/feminist/queer zines to punk rock fanzines. These selections- though only a mere glimpse into the past and present of “underground publishing”- illustrate the rich history of subversive thought, graphic art and free expression associated with the zine medium.

The Toronto Zine Library is a reading room and lending library run by a collective of zine-readers, zine-makers and librarians striving to make zines more accessible in Toronto. They believe that zines are an important medium of communication, and that they should be cherished, protected and promoted. The TZL aims to do this through not only a public collection of more than 1200 catalogued pieces, but also by conducting talks and workshops at the library and abroad, as well as by holding related events that promote zines as a method of open communication. The Toronto Zine Library is currently based out of the second floor of the Tranzac Club.

The Toronto Zine Library Collective is Suzanne Sutherland, Patrick Mooney and Tara Bursey. For more information on the Toronto Zine Library and its collective, consult the Toronto Zine Library website: http://www.sitekreator.com/zinelibrary

For more information, contact: Tara Bursey
She Said Boom! Window Space
ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com

Pictured: Pig Paper #14 by Gary Pig (1982)

Julian Calleros- Bugs In My Mind

Bugs in My Mind
Sculpture by
Julian Calleros

July 1-31, 2007
She Said Boom Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

From Artists Statement:
My personal evolution, how I relate and interact with people, is the motive for the creation of my artwork and the importance of communicating my thoughts. Through the years I have overcome many challenges, which have affected the way I work with materials. The concepts behind my artwork reflect socio-political issues, and reflect raw personal perspectives. My artwork represents bridges between cultures, languages and ideas, as well as the feelings of belonging and displacement.

Julian Calleros is a Toronto-based artist who works encompasses painting, papier-mâché/sculpture, video and photography. He is originally from Guadalajara,
Mexico.

From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love

I found this photo of the Russia installation on a photo-blog called pause by Drew Thomas Levy. What a great picture! The following caption accompanied the photo...

'from russia with love'
Toronto, ON | June 2007

I was walking along College Street east of Bathurst this morning, when I noticed this display in the window of 'She Said Boom,' a used book and record shop on the north side of Kensington Market. The piece, by a Toronto artist named Tara Bursey, is entitled 'From Russia with Love' and features 54 portraits of Russian 'mail-order brides' drawn from photographs found by the artist on internet websites. The portraits caught my eye, and only in part because they reminded me of Walker Evan's photograph (pictured below) 'Penny Picture Display, Savannah, Georgia, 1936.'

http://pause.my-expressions.com

Tara Bursey- From Russia With Love

Tara Bursey
From Russia with Love

June 1-30, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
Toronto

Bookwork multiples are available exclusively through the mail for $5 each for the length of the exhibition only. Address orders to From Russia with Love: 301-110 Tyndall Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M6K 2E2.

From Russia with Love is an installation featuring 54 portraits of Russian “mail order brides” drawn from photographs on internet sites. The installation is an extension of the artist’s previous work exploring serial portraiture- yearbook photos, WWII military portraits- and the idea of portraits of this nature serving as “human catalogues.” Using the laborious act of drawing each woman’s likeness by hand, the piece attempts to subvert the idea of these women being catalogued, while alluding to their commodification through their presentation within a storefront installation and bookwork “catalogue” multiple.

Tara Bursey is a recent graduate of the Toronto School of Art’s diploma program, and a former student at Ontario College of Art and Design. An artist whose practice encompasses sculpture and installation as well as drawing, printmaking and craft, Tara’s work is characterized by its ethereal quality, and an often obsessive use of repetition, pattern and delicate sculptural materials such as eggshells, garlic skin, found garments and paper. During her studies at the Toronto School of Art, Tara was the recipient of TSA’s Barbara Barrett Scholarship (2004) and Matthew David Stein Scholarship (2005). In the past two years, she has exhibited extensively throughout the city in such diverse venues as Open Studio, MOCCA, Eastern Front Gallery, Fly Gallery, and Propeller Centre for the Arts. In addition to her work as a fine artist, Tara also operates actively within Toronto’s independent music and small-press communities as a DJ, illustrator, designer, writer, and is currently a core member of the Toronto Zine Library collective. She was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

Heather Saunders- It's A Girl!

Heather Saunders- It's A Girl!

Some detail images taken late last night. Keep checking back for more...

Submissions for 2007 Now Closed

A huge thanks goes out to everyone who submitted proposals for the window. Submissions for 2007 are now closed, but there will be another call for submissions this September for 2008, so keep your eyes peeled...

The schedule for this year so far is:
May 2007 Heather Saunders- It's A Girl!
June 2007 Tara Bursey- From Russia with Love
July 2007 Julian Calleros- Bugs In My Mind
August 2007 Toronto Zine Library Collective- Selections
September 2007 Lindsay Zier-Vogel- Annie Oakley
November 2007 Amanda White- Anything Is Possible!
December 2007 Stephanie Cormier

Keep checking the blog for exhibition images, news, and information regarding future shows.

.Tara.

Heather Saunders- It's A Girl!

Heather Saunders
It's A Girl!

May 1st-31st, 2007.
She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street.
Toronto

Caught in a state of flux, these abstractions of cocoons are both breaking free and being further bound by layers of stitching and layers of fabric. They are made from girls’ baby clothes, women’s lingerie, and hybrids of the two, in an attempt to emphasize their shared signifiers, such as colour, sensual fabrics and floral imagery. The newest additions to the series incorporate girls’ baby clothes that contain text, as an exploration of the messages of socialization imposed, ironically, on a preliterate group.

Heather Saunders has a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Art History from Sheridan College and the University of Toronto. At the University of Toronto, she is completing a Masters in Library and Information Studies and will be starting a Masters in History of Art this fall. She is a former director of White Water Gallery (North Bay, Ontario) and the current publisher of FUSE magazine. (Toronto, Ontario).

Call For Submissions

She Said Boom! Window Space is a street-level, in-store, 24-hour window gallery seeking art for bi-monthly exhibitions. We are looking for engaging contemporary sculpture/installation, video/new media and two-dimensional work for consideration. To apply, email us a short proposal, an updated CV, bio and 3-5 jpgs of recent work. For more information, contact Tara Bursey @ ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com.

She Said Boom! Window Space
372 College Street
ssbwindowspace@hotmail.com