The Futures of Smell

Virtual reality scientists are now developing an interface that can release different smells associated with the images that the VR headset transmits. After inconclusive attempts to present films with odours in the 1950s, currently proposed interfaces show promising signs. Up to now, the metaverse simply

Marcia Pitch, The Invisible Woman

Detritus found in back alleys Rusted rickety twisted metal Looping hoses Panty hose pantyhose Silicone plastic trapped Dolly Limbs. Limbs upon limbs Plastic pictured photos torn Red. Other colours but mostly red Sand   Strange and disparate objects and imagery are joined and fused into discordant collages and sculptures in Marcia Pitch’s exhibition The Invisible

Thinking About Pornography in a Different Way

In his book Penser la pornographie (PUF, 2003), philosopher Ruwen Ogien (1947–2017) rejects the arguments of pornophobes, both conservative and progressive alike. While some consider pornography as a threat to the nuclear family and the traditional values it represents, others criticize the degradation of human

FIFA 2023: Afterimages and Reflections

The 41st edition of the Festival of Films on Art (FIFA) cast a large and festive net to usher in this first post COVID-19 pandemic in-person event. In addition to a copious offering dedicated to the arts in a broad sense, the festival provided a

Ice Follies

A short review of things past is in order, here: the biennial exhibition Ice Follies began in 2004, when Dermot Wilson, then the director and curator of the WKP Kennedy Gallery in North Bay, decided to move beyond the parameters of the gallery’s white box,

Neurodiversity: Recognizing difference

In the late 1990s, psychologist and sociologist Judy Singer1 developed the notion of neurodiversity, which was associated first with autism and advocacy for the rights of people with autism, then expanded to other types of neurodivergence such as ADHD, learning disabilities (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, dysphasia),

Mathieu Beauséjour, Demi-monde

Demi-monde is the intriguing title for Mathieu Beausejour’s recent solo exhibition at Galerie Bradley Ertaskiran. The term, derived from Alexandre Dumas’ 1855 play, refers to a group of women on the margins of society, who receive support from moneyed lovers. Over time, the term has

Stan Douglas: 2011 ≠ 1848

On 15 June 2011, my Comparative Civilizations teacher in high school introduced our class to the work of Mark Rothko, showing us slide after slide of his alternately ominous and euphoric colour-field paintings. Convinced that I had detected precisely those “basic human emotions” Rothko sought

Inordinate Images.
On the machine aesthetics of AI-based art

The current rush of attention to technologies of “artificial intelligence” (AI), ranging from governmental funding programmes to advertising campaigns for consumer products and mainstream movies, is indicative of a fundamental concern about the societal repercussions of an, as yet, confusing technoscientific development.1 The art world