September 21 – December 1
Spaces of Return continues the artist’s work with Anansi, a character from West African folklore. In the traditional stories, Anansi is sometimes described as a man, sometimes as a spider. Loewe re-envisions Anansi as a gender-nonconforming shapeshifter. The painting includes archival research from The ArQuives, depicting a site of queer history in Toronto, the St. Charles Tavern, along with drag queens from the 1960s and ‘70s. As well as conversations from Trans Community workshops with Emkay Adjei-Manu, Harmeet Rehal, kumari giles, Leon Tsai, SAYSAH and Uniqua as a part of Rudy Loewe’s commission for the 2024 Toronto Biennial. The workshops were developed as part of the artist’s residency in Toronto, hosted by the Toronto Biennial of Art, between April 3 – May 2, 2024, with the cooperation of SKETCH Working Arts.
Anansi #3 is part of an ongoing series of works, reimagining Anansi, a character from West African folklore, as a gender-nonconforming shapeshifter. Loewe considers who amongst us are forced to shapeshift in order to survive. Anansi is known as a trickster. Loewe draws a parallel between Anansi and trans people. ‘Deception’ is repeatedly weaponized against trans people as just cause for violence. But Loewe sees a great power in embodying the trickster archetype. In the painting, Anansi’s children have been weaving spider technologies, written in the script of tricksters. The work includes a collaborative practice of ‘encoding’ into the work, which began alongside artist Jacob V Joyce.
Rudy Loewe is a visual artist, arts educator, and cultural organizer who works within painting, drawing, textile, and sculpture to address Black and Caribbean diasporic histories and sociopolitical narratives. Drawn by their interest in Anansi—a character from West African folklore that shapeshifts between man and spider—Rudy has been developing an intimate dialogue with spiders.
Bio
Rudy Loewe (b.1987, they/them) lives and works in London, UK. They hold a BA in Illustration from the University of Brighton, UK (2010), an MFA in Visual Communication from Konstfack, Stockholm, SE (2018) and are currently working towards a practice-based PhD at the University of the Arts London. Loewe has exhibited internationally in institutions and galleries including: Humber Street Gallery, Hull, UK: South London Gallery, London, UK; New Art Exchange, Nottingham, UK; Botkyrka Konsthall, Stockholm, SE; Vallentuna Kulturhus, Stockholm, SE; Marabourparken, Sundbyberg, SE; Royal Academy, London, UK; Regart Centre D’Artistes En Art Actuel, Lévis, CA; DobraVaga, Ljubljana, SI; 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning, London, UK; Staffordshire St, London, UK; Serpentine Galleries, London, UK. They have had public commissions including: LDN WMN billboard commissioned by Tate and the Mayor of London, London, UK; Becontree Forever schools project, commissioned by Barking & Dagenham council, London, UK; The Depths of Our History, Contemporary Art Space Project commissioned by Iniva and RSA Academies, UK; Black Women in History, Pen Store shop front window, Stockholm, SE; PROCESSIONS banner commissioned by Artichoke, London, UK; Draw Or Die! Grafikens Hus shop front window, Södertälje, SE. Residencies include: Ecologias Especulativas, Labverde, Brazil (2023); Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge, UK (2023); Early Years Artists in Residence, Serpentine Galleries, London, UK (2020); Distributed Identities, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Canada (2019); We Dey, X Space, Austria (2019); The Bothy Project, Scotland (2019). Recent exhibitions include shows at VITRINE Fitzrovia, London, UK, Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, UK, PEER gallery, London UK and a public sculpture presentation in the Liverpool Biennial 2023, UK.
Location
- Accessibility
The Auto BLDG, 9th Floor
- Accessible entrance
- Accessible washrooms
- Elevator
- AODA-compliant building
Parking: Located at 152 Sterling Road in the Hines Parking Garage, just west of the museum. This is an underground parking lot. Hourly and daily rates apply.
Note: When exiting the parking lot, please use stairwell D for the most convenient access to the Auto BLDG.
- Getting There
The Auto BLDG, 9th Floor
By subway: The Auto BLDG is a 10-minute walk from both Lansdowne Station and Dundas West Station.
By streetcar: The Auto BLDG is a 5-minute walk from the closest streetcar stop at Dundas St West and Sterling Rd. This can be reached by the 505 Dundas and 506 Carlton streetcars.
UP Express: The Auto BLDG is a 10-minute walk from Bloor Station, which is two stops on the UP Express from Toronto Pearson Airport and one stop from Union Station.