Tout-Monde: Markham

About the Exhibition

Tout-Monde: Markham seeks to engage with the delicate, yet timely discourse about encountering and representing the other. The project is inspired by the ideas of Martiniquais poet and philosopher Edouard Glissant (1928 – 2011). Building on his in-depth explorations of the history of slavery, and of créolisation, Glissant imagined le Tout-Monde (“the whole-world”) where “relationships between two or more identities that are masters to themselves, would rely on changing by exchanging.”

With its diverse communities, Markham offers an interesting context within which to explore Glissant’s ideas. Six artists working with film were commissioned to engage with community members from backgrounds different from their own, thus stimulating the exploration of various means of perception and interaction with others. Ultimately, this project aims to generate a series of personal or collective encounters between artists and communities, as well as between neighbours, between friends and between strangers.

The artworks presented in the exhibition Tout-Monde: Markham are commissioned by Elegoa Cultural Productions with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, New Chapter Program, in partnership with the Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) and the Varley Art Gallery of Markham.

Learn more about Edouard Glissant.

Image credits
1, 3, 5, 6: Installation views of Tout-Monde: Markham, Varley Art Gallery of Markham, 2019. Photos: Toni Hafkenscheid.
2: On the set of Alice Shin’s Signal Fire, 2019. Photo: Anik Glaude
4. On the set of Andrew Chung’s White Elephant, 2019. Photo: Ifenna Okeke.
7. Anne Mangaard, Come Into my Kitchen, 2019, still from 4L video. Courtesy of the artist.