Faculty of Art

Criticism and Curatorial Practice

Kay Rangel

Sanctuaries of Tenderness

Sanctuaries of Tenderness is an exhibition that brings together two emerging Canadian artists based in Toronto whose work focuses on exploring sentiments of loss, grief, and nostalgia.

“ Briar Tawse-Smith and Asha Hall present reminiscences of home and childhood imagery that are bound to preserve memories amidst the acceptance of aging and the persistent changes that life brings with it. This exhibition considers intimate spaces as restorative refuges where these sentiments flourish and evolve. Where do you find yourself most comfortable to grieve? Tawse-Smith and Hall have created artworks that speak to one another. In her paintings, Hall works with family archives, using found images to explore feelings associated with letting go of childhood and parental attachment, as well as accepting mortality. Meanwhile, Tawse-Smith works with photography and installation to address the nexus of queer identities, family histories, grief, and an investigation of the self. By unintentionally following a similar pink theme, both artists are grieving something lost. Loss of youth Loss of comfort Loss of gender Loss of safety Loss of identity Loss of girlhood Things to grieve for – The artists in Sanctuaries of Tenderness are working with the representation of the bedroom but also with the loss of childhood and femininity. There’s an inevitable connection between the body, growth, and loss: Hall slowly accepts mortality as she ages, while Tawse-Smith, as a queer person, mourns their previous self that they have transitioned out of and comes to terms with whether they can become a mother or not. A space where we evolve; in celebration of the self we no longer are and that in which we will become. ”