Clarice Bianchi

Bound to Change

Bound to Change is a reflective installation based on a 17-hour performance on November 12, 2024 that I executed on the Toronto Transit Commission’s Line 2. The installation itself portrays the partial interior of a T series train, the windows displaying the 31 pieces of writing reflects upon the experience painting at each station I visited.

“Bound to Change is a reflective installation based on a 17 hour performance, that I executed on the TTC’s line 2. The aim of the performance was to visit every station, working my way West to East. Utilizing the same large sheet of raw canvas, I aimed to cover the marks done at the previous stations, essentially repainting the same surface 31 times. By doing so, I hoped to challenge my attachment to those marks, and subsequently, the attachments within me. Despite having documented the process, showing the images would glorify the very thing I hoped to detach myself from, so it was imperative for the work to be pushed to a place where the audience could glean the essence of the performance without having experienced it. The installation itself portrays the partial interior of a T series train, the windows displaying the 31 pieces of writing I wrote reflecting upon the experience painting at each station I visited. The writing was important to distance the work from its immediacy and simultaneously attempt to mythify the cyclical arch, and transformation experienced by every journey. Using the words from my reflections as line, I have referenced the most impactful forms I painted during my journey. The representation of the subway interior alludes to a theatre set, a setting where we attempt to synthesize our stories and represent their importance. The work then transforms into an awareness of the performance we all put on as we enter the public sphere, the glimpses of intimacy we have with ourselves and others as we all navigate our own journeys. ”