Imaginary Homelands

Imaginary Homelands, an exhibition exploring the manifest contrasts between two distant locations—in this case, the cities of Bogotá (Colombia) and Toronto (Canada)— is presented at the Art Gallery of York University from September through December 2, 2012.

The exhibition is the result of an experimental residence program lasting three years, through which, and by means of a series of artworks, guest artists consider the possibility of being in those two places at the same time, sharing their personal experiences, their ideas, and their creations, and generating the sensation of building, indeed, "an imaginary homeland". Eight Colombian artists took part in the project: Carlos Bonil, Nicolás Consuegra, Miler Lagos, Mateo López, Maria Isabel Rueda, Mateo Rivano, Daniel Santiago, Angélica Teuta, and Ícaro Zorbar. The exhibition was curated by E,elle Changur, Assitant Director of the Art Gallery of York University.

Pursuing their goals, the artists used materials, stories, and processes that included visit to paper manufacturers, recycling plants, flea markets, and sea ports; expeditions to the Arctic, Niagara Falls, and North Ontario; walks around cliffs and riverboat journeys. All are present in works that narrate such events, combining fiction and fantasy with reality. Imaginary Homelands is a place that is neither here nor there, a place that invites us to see before believing. A third space open to imaginative projections that are part of a continued process of creation.