Last weekend, the second exhibition hosted by the University of Toronto’s Visual Studies Student Exhibition Program (VSSEP), “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” opened in the EEL Gallery housed in the South Borden building.
‘Release the Kraken,’ an etching collaboration by all three student-artists. EMMA KIKULIS/THE VARSITY
The exhibition showcased the work of three U of T undergraduate students: Lena Binnington, David Hostetter, and Maximilian Suillerot. The exhibition was a demonstration of the artists’ devotion to process, balance and control in their individual artistic pursuits. Although distinguishable, all three pieces are unexpectedly harmonious.
Binnington’s “Symmetry Study”, a watercolour piece on rice paper, reveals the irregularity and mystery of printmaking. It goes well with Hostetter’s “Abandoned Portraits” which explores surrealism and identity. “Release the Kraken,” an etching collaboration by all three students, is a daring union of presence and absence.
According to “I’ll be Your Mirror” curator and VSSEP co-founder Blair Swann, there is a high demand for artistic intervention on campus. “The goal of VSSEP is to encourage an art-based community within our campus, something that we found UTSG was lacking.” has held monthly galleries like “I’ll be Your Mirror” in order to provide visual arts students with the opportunity to showcase their projects outside of academia. “Not all of the works are class projects,” details Swann, “we want to encourage students to showcase their personal works, or create something exclusively for the exhibition.”
The opportunity to receive feedback from other students outside the classroom context is also a major facet of the student-run organization, which thrives on the integrity and creativity of students. “Our exhibitions are geared especially towards the St. George campus, which is usually dominated by engineering, or overshadowed by OCAD,” explains Swann. “I’ll be Your Mirror, and our exhibitions, create opportunities for students to create art outside the restrictions of class assignments, and help foster a stronger art community on campus.”
I’ll be Your Mirror runs until March 7 in the South Borden Building’s EEL Gallery.
‘Abandoned Portraits’ by David Hostetter CLARE SCOTT/THE VARSITY
