Image: Joshua Vettivelu, (detail) prayers for a word (or a lack that builds the world), beeswax, cinnamon, dimensions variable.

Artist talk/tour:
Saturday, March 5, 12 pm and 2 pm.

Join us on an artist-led tour and talk with Joshua Vettivelu as they discuss their exhibition prayers for a word (or a lack that builds the world) on Saturday, March 5, 2022. In accordance with provincial guidelines, the VAC will host two scheduled artist talks to safely limit the number of visitors to the gallery. A free shuttle bus will depart Toronto to bring visitors to the first scheduled artist talk from 12:00 - 1:30 pm. The second artist talk will be from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.

This final installment of Public Space, curated by Matthew Kyba, features hundreds of castings of the artist's grandmother's hands, created using beeswax infused with 'Ceylon' cinnamon. Visitors can view Vettivelu's exhibition every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday beginning on February 4, 2022, and ending on March 6, 2022, during the hours of 10 am to 4 pm.

About the Exhibition

Joshua Vettivelu’s installation, prayers for a word (or a lack that builds the world) presents hundreds of slowly melting castings of their grandmother’s hands, made out of beeswax infused with ‘Ceylon’ cinnamon.

Vettivelu’s research investigates how the language we use to understand ourselves is informed by the material conditions that surround us. Prayers for a word (a lack that builds the world) connects the material history of the spice trade with the psychic impact of European missionary work to explore how frameworks of redemption and salvation have been used to ensure enthusiastic labour and unfettered access to resources.

The installation is intentionally housed in the Visual Art Centre of Clarington, recalling its role as a decommissioned barley mill. The building was constructed in 1905 for the processing of grits and barley, later revitalized into a hub of cultural production by the Town of Newcastle in 1976. In collaboration with Nicolas Fleming and Andreas Buchwaldt, Vettivelu refigures the VAC’s architecture into a factory that continually produces and destroys something that is simultaneously material and immaterial, public yet deeply private.

Please note that the Loft Gallery is located on the third floor of the VAC with restricted access by four flights of stairs equipped with a handrail.