“In DENSE, Brewster transforms The Fleck Clerestory into a world made out of memories that family members shared with her, interwoven with her own lived experiences. Two images face each other: the Essequibo River in Guyana on the east wall, a collage of Canadian and Guyanese forests on the west wall. Together, these works engage our ability to affectionately give meaning to places other than through the dynamics of nationalism and geopolitics that continue to impact displaced communities.
These soaring images appear on the walls through a process of drawing and photo-based gel transfer. Both images were printed paper, glued to the Clerestory walls, then scrubbed away. The traces of ink that remain after the paper, glue, and water used to mount the work have been removed are marked by tears, creases, and textures. This transformative process offers new perspectives of the original images, alluding to how one’s relation to a place-called-home changes with time and experience.
DENSE brings our attention to the brown and murky waters of the river — the colour of silt, sediment, and invisible fallen leaves — as well as the impenetrable forest. This fogginess lends itself well to how contemporary diasporic movements eclipse the seemingly singular definitions of Black communities. Brewster embraces this mystery as an act of refusal, countering imposed narratives of how afro-descendent Diaspora have fostered senses of belonging in places where they were once enslaved.”
– Excerpt from curatorial text
DENSE, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, February 5 – May 1, 2022
Photo credit: Toni Hafkenscheid