Check out this season’s exhibitions at The Image Centre
Ken Lum, I Know the Answer, from the series Image/Repeated Text, 1994/2023, powder coated aluminum with vinyl. Courtesy of Magenta Plains Gallery, New York/Royale Projects, Los Angeles
The seasons are changing and so are the exhibitions at TMU’s acclaimed gallery, The Image Centre (IMC). On May 15, the IMC re-opened with five new exhibitions.
The main gallery hosts the work of renowned Canadian artist Ken Lum, curated by IMC exhibitions curator, Gaëlle Morel. Celebrating Lum's illustrious career, the show includes a signature series alongside new works, offering visitors insight into the artist's creative evolution.
“Ken Lum’s conceptual work offers a unique blend of humour and critical inquiry,” said Morel. “Through his large-format photographic tableaux, which often combine image and text, he invites audiences to confront pressing political and social concerns. Lum is also interested in creating immersive experiences in his exhibitions, and this show will be no exception.”
Lum's conceptualist approach is informed by cultural studies, semiology, and political philosophy. Through his impactful practice, Lum interrogates the relationship between language and representation in public spaces, challenging prevailing social hierarchies and dominant narratives surrounding identity, class, and gender. The exhibition promises to provoke thoughtful reflection about, and critical engagement with, contemporary societal dynamics.
The exhibition highlights over 25 pieces from across Lum’s distinguished career and selections from the acclaimed series, Image/Repeated Text, featuring photographic portraits juxtaposed with concise, slogan-like written texts (pictured above), produced between 1994 and 2023. Works from the World Portrait Series and Portraits from the Schnitzel Company Series will also be on display.
Lum, born in Canada and currently serving as chair of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Design, has garnered international recognition for his diverse artistic practice. His work has been shown at venues and events worldwide, including Documenta 11, the Venice Biennale, and the Whitney Biennial.
Lum’s work will be exhibited from May 15 to August 3, 2024.
Explore all upcoming shows at the IMC this season:
Clarissa Tossin, Streamlined: Belterra, Amazônia / Alberta, Michigan (still), 2013, two-channel video. Courtesy of the artist
Clarissa Tossin: Streamlined: Belterra, Amazônia / Alberta, Michigan (external link)
May 9–August 3, 2024
Salah J. Bachir New Media Wall
Guest Curator: Noa Bronstein
Unidentified photographer, [Arrest identification photograph of George Fields alias George Worthington], 1898, gelatin silver print mounted on card. Courtesy of the Ontario Provincial Police Museum
Hypervisibility: Early Photography and Privacy in North America, 1839–1900 (external link)
May 9–August 3, 2024
University Gallery
Guest Curators: Sarah Parsons and Frances Dorenbaum
Werner Wolff, Untitled [Foundry worker], ca. 1955, gelatin silver print. The Black Star Collection, The Image Centre © The Family of Werner Wolff
Working Machines: Postwar America Through Werner Wolff’s Commercial Photography (external link)
May 9–June 15, 2024
Student Gallery
Alishah Ahmad, Puzzle of Sentiments (detail), 2023, collage. Courtesy of the artist
In Dimension: Personal and Collective Narratives (external link)
May 9–August 3, 2024
The Great Hall
Guest Curator: Bryce Julien
Noor Awan, Beyond Blueprints, 2023, digital illustration, for the exhibition A. Sheikh: The Test. Courtesy of the artist
A. Sheikh: The Test (external link)
June 26 –August 3, 2024
Student Gallery
For more information on the IMC’s public program schedule, visit the IMC website. (external link)