cyphers, tissue, blizzards, exile Tau Lewis
I’m on the thought of trauma. I wonder if humans recover, and how much autonomy we have in the performance of recovering. Is the most painful time the most formative?
Tau Lewis’ new body of work, created over a three month period, incorporates photographs, figurative sculptures, video, and site-specific installations at 8eleven Gallery. Lewis investigates dreams, wherein no concrete semblance of time exists, to explore collective and historical trauma, repression, and the performance of recovery. The exhibition acts as a physical manifestation of a dreamt landscape, charged by remnants of personal histories and material markers of time. Cyphers, tissue, blizzards, exile is Lewis’ second solo exhibition.
About the Artist
Tau Lewis (b. 1993) is a Jamaican-Canadian artist currently living and working in Toronto, Ontario. A self-taught sculptor, Lewis combines natural and synthetic materials to create simulations of living things. She considers the history and symbolism of each material, exploring the political boundaries of nature, identity and authenticity. Her work is bodily and organic, with an explicit strangeness and subtle morbidity. Lewis' work has also carried strong feminist themes. Her current practice relies heavily on her surrounding environment; she uses live plants, found objects and repurposed materials collected throughout the Canadian landscape to create figurative sculptures investigating black identity politics and African diaspora. Lewis has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Katzman Contemporary, Project Gallery Studios, and Sleep Center in New York City. She has received support for her artistic practice from Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council. This spring, Lewis will be exhibiting at the Spring Break Art Fair in New York City, Katharine Mulherin New York, Cooper Cole in Toronto, and the Art Gallery of York University in the fall.
Documentation by Jeff Bierk and Polina Teif.