Precarious Joy
curated by Abby Ho and Amanda Low, produced by Project 40 Collective, presented by Hearth Garage
Joy is sometimes fleeting and nebulous. It is sometimes outlined or overshadowed by grief, sorrow, and deep loneliness. Yet, it continues to glimmer in small ways, especially powerful when nurtured through community care. In the spirit of precarious joy, a joy that is obtained by a communal asking, the artists in this exhibition activate joy as communal resistance, joy as radical acts.
Precarious Joy is the small breath before the big release. It acknowledges ongoing change, capturing the labour of asking for and remembering presence, fostering a small seed of joy in anticipation that it will multiply into something greater. We invite you to sit in the stillness these works offer in their creative tracing of multiple forms and expressions of joy.
Produced by Project 40 Collective, Precarious Joy is our final volume of LooseLeaf Magazine in 3D form. This interdisciplinary group exhibition was postponed due to COVID-19 but thought initially to occur last June 2020 at Northern Contemporary Gallery in conjunction with the launch of LooseLeaf Volume 9 – Power. Coming to you now, we hope Precarious Joy offers a moment of rest and comfort to continue forward in our current seasons of change and upheaval.
This exhibition features the work of L Akhter, Jana Ghalayini, Ramolen Laruan, Tommy Troung, Khanh Tudo, Fong Ki Wan, Sanna Wani, Qirou Yang, and Rice Water Collective: Florence Yee and Arezu Salamzadeh.
View the exhibition pamphlet here.
Read the exhibition essay by Atif M. Khan here.
View online documentation of the exhibition here.
Precarious Joy was funded with support from the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.