Mail Art can travel while we cannot, and 80+ artists responded to an open call for works for mail Art: Unlimited Dada.
I have always loved sending “things” in the mail to people and was thrilled to be able to mail in two works to the Mail Art: unlimited Dada open call at Propeller Gallery in Toronto, ON. It was meant to be an in-person show (how marvelous would that be to see!), but a second lockdown in the province put an end to those plans. The online opening was yesterday (I forgot to stop packing to go), but you can still visit the exhibition online until late April!
I thought I had photographed my pieces before sending them in – it turns out I had in fact only taking snapshots of the pieces on my cutting board (and just-in-case at the post office). The photos don’t really showcase their playfulness and materiality well, but such is the way things are sometimes. I have been writing poems from newspaper columns throughout the pandemic, and incorporated one of them into a this postcard for the show.
This postcard was inspired by a question Dong Won Kim posed during his IICSI Thinking Spaces talk about his upcoming article exploring the future of the arts and the COVID-19 pandemic for Critical Studies in Improvisation.
Propeller Gallery has prepared an exhibition catalogue, a slideshow of all the pieces from 80+ artists, and this accompanying text for the show:
“COVID-19 has created crisis and instability across the world. During this volatile time, with most of us stuck in place, the mail offers us metaphorical transport out of our immediate physical spaces. Mail can travel while we cannot.
In response, Propeller Art Gallery is presenting an online exhibition opening January 20, 2021 of 118 artworks sent via the post from around the globe with most works available for sale. This creative outlet for the community serves as a physical artefact of the time we are living through and recognizes that, while many of our interactions have moved to the virtual realm, there is also increased interest in making things by hand and communicating with each other by tactile means.”
January 20 —April 20 2021
Propeller Art Gallery
30 Abell Street
Toronto, Ontario
www.propellerartgallery.ca