12.03.15 - Work by Tings Chak (MArch 2014) showcased in A Space Gallery's "Detention" exhibition

Excerpts from Daniels Faculty alumna Tings Chak’s graphic novel are on display until March 14th as part of the exhibition Detention, at A Space Gallery. The exhibition, which also features artwork by Sheena Hoszko and an essay by Ayesha Basit, explores injustices in migrant detention centres in Canada.

“Canada does not follow recognized international human rights norms for migrant detainees,” writes A Space in its description of the exhibition. "In addition to the three immigration detention centres that exist in the country currently, Canada uses maximum security prisons to hold detainees for 'administrative' purposes."

Tings Chak's work in the exhibition is based on research completed for her Master of Architecture thesis at the Daniels Faculty, which she later transformed into the graphic novel Undocumented: The Architecture of Migrant Detention. The novel documents the experiences of detainees held at migrant detention centres in Canada, and the impact of the architecture in which they are forced to reside.

The Toronto Star recently profiled the exhibition, describing it as a welcome departure from typical political art. From the article:

“Here, Chak offers angular ink drawings of rooms used for incarceration; transport trucks passing through portals in the fence; the occasional, refracted view of the world outside. It is suffocating in its plainness — the terror of the mundane.

It’s a point screaming for a counterpoint, which neither artist gives. That part is up to you, which you’re more than happy to offer. That’s where both artists and the show succeeds where so much political art fails: they don’t tell you what to feel, they let you feel it.”

Detention will run until March 14^th at the A Space Gallery, which is open Tuesday to Friday 11AM-5PM and Saturday 12PM-5PM.

For more information, visit http://www.aspacegallery.org/index.php?m=programdetails&id=756

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