September 21 – December 1
Onoriode, meaning Who knows tomorrow? in Urhobo (a Nigerian language), is a newly commissioned installation exploring time as a frequency, using photocopies, repetition, and collage. The work investigates the journey of citizenship and belonging, questioning what it means to be rooted in a place and how one makes sense of time, and is presented in three parts. Family photos printed on canvas are draped over furniture from various Canadian homes, creating a dialogue between personal memories and the histories of these objects. Framed family portraits and prints of Toronto’s landscapes, altered through repetitive photocopying, become abstract patterns, symbolizing the passage of time. Drawings emphasize the relationship between the artist’s body and the land, mirroring the streaks formed by erasing photocopy prints.
Abraham is a photo-based artist. In his practice, he experiments with approaches that question the narratives and materials found in images and objects. His work critically examines societal structures and historical inheritances, encouraging viewers to ponder the intricacies of identity, power relations, and cultural heritage.
Commissioned by the Toronto Biennial of Art and co-presented with Gallery TPW.
Bio
Abraham Onoriode Oghobase (b. 1979 in Lagos, Nigeria; he/him) is a visual artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. For almost two decades, Oghobase has embraced photography as a way of exploring socio-economic, environmental and historic geographies – using his own body as a recurring subject. In more recent times, he has challenged and tested the limits of the photograph as well as conventional image-making by experimenting with the narrative and material potential of images and objects. From dissecting the lithographic printing process – monochrome prints on paper, metal plates and film transparencies – to, more recently, incorporating collage and photocopy techniques that combine and repeat images across time, Oghobase confronts issues around knowledge production, land, colonial history and representation, embracing the power of abstraction and revealing new possibilities in meaning and imagination. Oghobase’s work has been exhibited widely, including in the Nigeria Pavilion at the upcoming La Biennale di Venezia 60th International Art Exhibition; the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Polygon Gallery, Vancouver; Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg; Pace Gallery, London, KADIST, Paris; and Art Twenty One, Lagos. A recipient of the inaugural Okwui Enwezor Prize at the 12th Rencontres de Bamako African Biennial of Photography in 2019, his work is held in the permanent collections of institutions including MoMA; Art Institute of Chicago; Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina; and Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiasma, Helsinki. Oghobase holds an MFA in Visual Arts from York University, Toronto.
Location
- Accessibility
Gallery TPW
Accessible entrance
Washrooms available
Gallery TPW has ramp access and clear, unobstructed pathways within the gallery. Please note that there are no automatic doors at the entrance or washroom and no designated accessible parking nearby.
Venue is AODA-compliant
For more information on Accessibility at Gallery TPW please click here.
Parking: Limited street parking is available on St. Helens Avenue or at nearby Green P locations.
- Getting There
Gallery TPW
Visitors arriving by TTC can walk from Lansdowne Station, take the 505 Dundas Street West Streetcar, the 506 College Streetcar, or the 47 Lansdowne Bus.
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