the evolving nature of solidarity in fraught moment
Articles
Expanding on a discussion that took place at Anthology Film Archives following a screening of Lily Jue Sheng’s work, Steff Huì Cí Ling examines what it means to organize as arts workers while building solidarity beyond the sector and create art with “working-class intention” in a “bourgeois context.”
Use augmented reality to expose clues in the “Celestial Throne” game show.
A chance encounter at a thrift store sparked artist Juan Ortiz-Apuy’s (QC) project ‘Shirleys’. Inspired by vintage Kodak cards used to calibrate colour and skin tone, Ortiz-Apuy challenges the illusion of neutrality in lens-based technology.
Curator/writer Noor Bhangu’s (ON) Tastes Like Abundance explores how artists use AI to reimagine incomplete archives while addressing its profound risks in military applications. Bhangu’s article underscores the tension between the technology’s creative potential and its capacity for harm.
Writer Cole Thompson’s (SK) article Be Careful, the Top Plate is Very Hot or The Death and Life of Licensed Family Restaurants delves into the precognitive state of affect, connecting themes of poetry, theory, food poisoning, and the ubiquitous charm of the familiar licensed family restaurant.
In this profile, Kiki Dishes it Out, curator/artist/writer Luther Konadu (MB) traces the origins and influence of “Kiki,” the alter ego of performance artist Kiera Boult (ON). Konadu examines how Boult combines sharp commentary on art world hypocrisies with playful riffs on pop culture, delivered with style and criticality.
Artist duo Phomohobes (SK/ON) appropriates elements from vintage lifestyle magazines—spanning interior décor, fashion, and porn—reworking them into erotically charged and surreal collages. Their project, Perverse Luxury, simultaneously highlights their capacity to worship and critique consumer culture.
Artist and scholar Clint Enns interviews filmmaker and photographer Judah Iyunade about cinematic style and influences, following Iyunade’s recent solo exhibition “Alara” at the Centre for Cultural Arts + Practices (C’CAP) in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In Eyres’ world, the tragicomic reigns, and something is always thrillingly off.
The articles and projects in this issue stem from commissioned responses to the theme of “taste,” framed in part by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s text Distinction, which examines the relationship between taste and class.