Mas' at 94 Chestnut

Description

Mas’ at 94 Chestnut depicts a group of intergenerational mourners and a Trinidadian altar, acknowledging Black ancestors and presenting a place steeped in memory that is made visible and public. Through archival research, oral histories, and the invocation of mythical, sacred, and haunting imagery, artist Anique Jordan reimagines and resurrects a congregation of the recently excavated British Methodist Episcopal Church, one of a number of Black churches that once thrived in the Ward—a neighbourhood in Toronto which used to be a centre for newcomers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Constructing meaning from what is absent, this work creates a scene of grieving and a call for remembrance across time. Working at the crossroad of community development and art, Anique Jordan’s practice stems from and returns to the communities that inform it. Her work plays with the foundations of traditional Trinidadian carnival and the theory of hauntology to challenge historical narratives. Main Image Credit: Anique Jordan, Mas' at 94 Chestnut, 2016.

Installed Exhibit Images by Toni Hafkenscheid