The Dollhouse: Dusk #2 (20″ x 30″) Kodak Endura Digital C-prints, 2007 (printed 2011) ed. 10
May 2 – June 9, 2012
Opening: Saturday, May 5, 6 – 9 p.m.
TELEPHONE BOOTH GALLERY
3148 Dundas St. W.
Toronto, ON, M6P 2A1
T: 647-270-7903
E: sharlene@telephoneboothgallery.ca
www.telephoneboothgallery.ca
Hours: Wed and Sat 11–6, Thurs and Fri 11 – 7 p. m.
Do abandoned places still bear the residue of past inhabitants? If we constantly abandon our places, do we lose connections to what sustains us?
The Dollhouse is a suite of 30 photographs that present the transformation of an abandoned farmhouse in rural Manitoba into a life-sized dollhouse. The photographs reveal a degraded wooden house in a flat empty field. Around the back of the house, an entire wall has been replaced with Plexiglas, revealing rooms that have been fully restored and furnished with decor dating from around the time the house was abandoned in 1968. The contrast in the exterior and interior speak to themes surrounding the passage of time, childhood play, memory, reclamation and nostalgia. The Dollhouse delves deeply into exploring the act of dwelling and engaging with a deep sense of place.
We hold inside us a gathering of the places we have inhabited. Places shape our ideas and feelings; at the same time, our ideas and feelings animate places.
Heather Benning created The Dollhouse while serving as artist-in-residence for Redvers, Saskatchewan, about 30 kilometres west of the house near Sinclair, Manitoba. The installation took nearly 18 months to complete.
Celebrating the 5th anniversary of the installation, this exhibition will feature selected works from the suite of 30 photographs as well as never before exhibited images documenting the creation of The Dollhouse.