Art Lab Residency Project Description
This residency is devoted to the production of artworks belonging to a new series entitled The land of Id. Since my practice focuses mainly on drawing, the first few weeks will be spent creating large-scale oil paintings on canvas. Painting is an activity that forces me to think and react differently from drawing, therefore it will be interesting to see what this exercise will produce. Later on there will also be some experimentation with mechanical flip-book animations which will be included in the exhibition The land of Id following my residency.
Artist Statement for The land of Id
In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the Id refers to the component of our psyche responsible for our most primitive impulses and drives. It is an egocentric, all-consuming urge to satisfy our immediate needs and desires without any consideration for possible consequences or repercussions.
I feel that such theory perfectly describes our contemporary attitude toward our surroundings. Continuing my discourse on human behaviour, The land of Id focuses on humanity’s relationship with the natural environment offering two alternative yet equally interesting points of view. If on one hand it confronts us with the disastrous results of our ill-conceived rapport with nature, on the other it offers some levity and food for thought. The land of Id becomes a topsy-turvy world filled with tension and instability, where everything appears possible yet nothing is what it seems. Through symbolisms and satire, The Land of Id eventually alerts us about the dangerous effects of our exploitative behaviours.
At completion, this collection of works will contain large-scale paintings, drawings on paper and small installations.
Biography:
Toni Hamel holds a BFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Lecce (Italy), a post-graduate Certificate in Computer Graphics from Sheridan College in Oakville (Ontario, Canada), and the Golden Key Award from the University of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) where she attended the Specialist Programme in Psychology.
After a successful career as an Interactive Media developer and University of Toronto instructor, since 2007 Hamel has focused exclusively on her art practice. Her work has been exhibited at galleries across Ontario, including Latcham Gallery (Stouffville), John B. Aird Gallery (Toronto), Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa), Station Gallery (Whitby) and the Art Gallery of Peterborough, and internationally at the Truman Brewery Gallery 25 in London, England, and the ExpoArte in Milan, Italy among others. Hamel is the recipient of many awards and three Ontario Arts Council grants. Her work is held in private and public collections in Canada, the US and Europe. For more information, please visit tonihamel.net