Jennie Suddick and Cole Swanson at The Ministry Of Casual Living

Canadian artists are challenged to distinguish a national identity from which relevant art discourse can emerge. As a cross-cultural hotspot, Canada’s widespread roots are daunting to deconstruct at first glance. The relationship between the individual and the landscape, however, often appears as a topic for discussion with Canadian artists, likely because of the vastness of the country’s geography. The surface of this landscape is pock-marked with signs of growing habitation and development. Upon closer inspection, the minutia is transformed to reveal a complex social culture.

“Mile Zero” refers to the Western-most point of the Trans-Canada highway, disputed to be in Victoria, B.C. The artists, Cole Swanson and Jennie Suddick, reside in Toronto, Ontario, approximately four thousand kilometres from Victoria, British Columbia. Spanning an impressive portion of the Trans-Canada Highway, this distance is the sublime backdrop for artworks about small-scale habitation in a vast landscape. Through the use of both sculptural and pictorial miniatures, Mile Zero invites gallery goers to become intimate with cultural micro-narratives in celebration and critique of Canada's diverse geographic and social systems.

The artists would like to acknowledge the support of The Canada Council for the Arts and The Ontario Arts Council.

Opening Reception Saturday, August 20th at 8 PMMinistry Of Casual Living - 1442 Haultain Street