Kapwani Kiwanga, a renowned Franco-Canadian artist, is presenting her first major exhibition in Canada titled “Remediation” at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Toronto. The exhibition runs until July 23, 2023, and covers both floors of the museum. Along with recent key works, Kiwanga has created five new commissions and a sisal installation specific to the site, all of which will be produced locally. Through this selection, Kapwani Kiwanga deepens her research on how botany has long been linked to exploitation and acts of resistance, and how plant life has intervened and can intervene in the rejuvenation of contaminated environments.
Kiwanga’s artistic practice has long highlighted the importance of nature in determining the course of history, not only through evolution but also through the ever-changing response of nature to human intervention. Interested in how the earth has been treated violently but also correctively by humans and natural phenomena, she studies how these events and their expected outcomes can have different repercussions.
The new works presented throughout the exhibition are site-specific and made in response to MOCA‘s industrial past. These commissions are exhibited in dialogue with existing artworks and new versions of ongoing work, including a specific version of her sisal installations, interventions on the floor and windows, and an updated series of inflatable vivariums. Through this expanded selection, “Remediation” develops Kapwani Kiwanga‘s research on how botany has long been linked to exploitation and acts of resistance, and how plant life has intervened and can intervene in the rejuvenation of contaminated environments.
This project builds on the established relationship between Kapwani Kiwanga and MOCA during the presentation of her highly acclaimed work “Flowers for Africa,” exhibited at the museum in 2021.
The exhibition is jointly organized by MOCA Toronto and Remai Modern in Saskatoon, where it will be presented in the fall of 2023. It was also recently announced that Kapwani Kiwanga has been chosen to represent Canada at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024.
Kapwani Kiwanga’s Remediation exhibition at MOCA Toronto is an excellent opportunity for art enthusiasts to experience her innovative and thought-provoking work, which explores the relationship between human history and the natural world. With the inclusion of site-specific commissions, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to engage with the artist’s response to the industrial past of the museum and the local area. The selection of works in the exhibition is diverse, and visitors can expect to see a range of mediums, from installations to inflatable vivariums. Don’t miss this chance to see the work of one of Canada’s most exciting artists.