Each of the situations that I set up conform to certain structures, and pre-determined ‘rules’, nonetheless, it is impossible to predict how they will develop and what expectations they will trigger, in myself and in the public. However, this is precisely the point. Things constantly slip out of control, behaviors need to be monitored and adjusted. The failure to conform elicits feelings of rejection and anxiety.
In 2003, I traveled to Poland, the country of my birth, and for three months I held castings in different art galleries across the country in search of a husband. I called it The Love Project. The project received strong reactions from the public, as well as wide-spread media attention. In The Dinner Project (2004-05), I approached strangers in the street, proposing to make them dinner in their home. Every Sunday, for 52 weeks, I cooked and dined with different groups. Some of these encounters were negative and confrontational, while others were easy and natural. In my most recent work, in The Viewings (2008), I took on the role of a wealthy woman in search of a new residence. I arranged viewings of expensive flats in London and recorded the experiences using a small spy camera. The project focused on what extent I needed to ‘adjust’ myself in order to become believable, and the types of behaviors my apparent status elicited in others.
My fascination with relationships, and the expectations that different situations and social contexts produce is precisely what drives my work. In establishing connections with others, I take up strategies that challenge social norms and conventions. By playing with the rules of social conduct, I reveal what is permissible, and what is not.
2006-08
MFA, Goldsmiths College, London
1995-97
BFA, Concordia University, Montreal
2008
The Viewings, Goldsmiths College MFA degree show, London, UK
2005
The Hamilton Dinner Series, Art Gallery of Hamilton, part of The Feast exhibit
Kicz-miedzy wstydem i zachwytem, Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw and Slaskie Museum in Katowice
The Dinner Project-Reunion, Montreal
2004
The Dinner Project, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa (www.thedinnerproject.com)
2003
The Love Project, Gallery Kont: Lublin, Gallery ON: Poznan, BWA: Wroclaw, BWA: Zielona Gora, Dom Saos: Krakow, Bunkier Sztuki: Krakow
2002
Random Encounters, part of Trans-it/mit/fer/form and Images Festival, YYZ, Toronto
2001
Inflatable Paranoia, part of project entitled Pyrate Editions+, Sis Boom Bah gallery, Toronto, collaboration with Lucia Cipriano
Superstar Series, NoD, Prague
Superstar Series, Galerie Vaclava Spaly, Prague
2000
Superstar Vacation, part of Mois de la Performance, La Centrale, Montreal
waiting for something to happen, part of Les Commensaux, Skol, Montreal
PassArt- Les Yeux Rouges, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec
Exchanges, Montreal
Gallery 303, Montreal
Edgy Women VII, Studio 303, Montreal
Studio 416A, Montreal
1999
Anonymous, Forest City Gallery, London, Ont.
Dirt, Montreal
1998
In Between, part of Special Projects, Galerie Articule, Montreal
2006
Cirque de Soleil project grant
Canada Council for the Arts, Visual Arts Grant
Commonwealth Scholarship Semi-finalist
2004
Canada Council for the Arts, Inter Arts Project Grant
2001
CALQ-Travel Grant
Canada Council for the Arts-Travel Grant
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Project Grant, awarded by the Canadian Embassy in Prague
2000
Canada Council for the Arts, Inter Arts Project Grant
Sheila Hugh Mackay Foundation, Project Grant