Ruminations on Safe Spaces

Ruminations on Safe Spaces
March 30-April 2, 2022
Satellite Project Space
121 Dundas St
Gallery hours: Wednesday-Friday 2:00-7:00pm, Saturday 12:00-5:00pm

Andrew Fullerton, Alex Rozenberg, Harsh Patankar, Ahsif Khair Mohammad, Evalyn Watson, Jamie Scoler, Azadeh Odlin, Gallus McIntyre, Maahi Patel, Denise Zhu, Avery Vojvodin

What does it mean to exist in a space during a pandemic? How do we form space and place in digital landscapes? Can a community exist in these conditions? These are all topics we considered while planning Ruminations on Safe Spaces.

Over the last two years, our fourth-year SASAH (School for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities) cohort’s notions of personal and shared spaces have transformed. In March 2020, we retreated from lecture halls and libraries into the safety of our childhood bedrooms and student homes. Not even the warmth of overheated laptops could replace the human connection that had been severed by pixels. We sought refuge on the land of London, Ontario, situated on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, and Lunaapeewak peoples who have long-standing relationships to the land, water, and regions of Southwestern Ontario. The First Nation communities of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, Oneida Nation of the Thames, and Munsee-Delaware Nation have been stewards of this land.

This exhibit uses visual art, writing, and mixed media to explore how we perceive space and place in relation to ourselves and each other in the context of a pandemic. Ruminations on Safe Spaces grapples with the idea of finding community in our own safe spaces. Whether that be in bedrooms, on Zoom, in a class full of masked students, or alone in nature, what does it mean to feel safe in a time of such uncertainty?