Scenes From
The Maul- Art Works from The Maul by Fiona Smyth
WEIRD
THINGS- 998 Bathurst Street
Opening on
Thursday, September 17@7:30
This
shopping mall is filled with teenagers transformed into monsters running amok. Commentary is on the commodification of teens’
bodies and identities and corporate media’s perceptions of the teens codified
world. The media’s manipulation of these projected images of youth sells us the
concepts of ageism, sexism, sizeism, homophobia, and racism as norms to be
coveted. Immortality achieved by conformity reigns supreme. The truth of youth
includes the realities of exclusion, abuse, economic disparity, and
exploitation. In The Maul the monstrous teenagers rise up against their captors
to break free of the “shoebox” they are caught in. In the process they attack
each other and destroy the fabricated consumer paradise of the mall.
This
show is part of the larger installation project The Maul.
Grant
support funded by the Toronto Arts Council.
