SOS: A Story of Survival, Part III – The Planet
9 November 2024 to March 9 2025
Ari Bayuaji
Ashley Beerdat
Claire Greenshaw
Dan Hudson
Jennifer Murphy
Ludovic Boney
Maggie Groat
Melissa Doherty
Michael Belmore
Nestor Krüger
Robert Houle
Roshan James
Curated by Darryn Doull
SOS: A Story of Survival is a three-part exhibition exploring what survival is, what it looks like and what it means to survive.
Part I – The Image launched the series from a place of cultural history in the art museum, as artists brought images and histories together to survive in new forms and contexts. Part II – The Body brought issues, frameworks, struggles and successes of local and global significance alongside one another and looked to the body as a tool of survival while interrogating the forces that threaten it.
The exhibition series has never pretended to have the answers to solve global climate collapse. We are already past all of the tipping points. There is no going back. Instead, the series offers alternative and hybrid nodes, relations and techniques as pathways into the future and of recuperating hope, juxtaposing the individual with community and emphasizing mutual aid. Part III – The Planet draws attention back to the matter of our world: to the rocks beneath our feet, the air in our lungs and the water throughout and all around us.
Related Programming:
Opening Celebration with DJ Charlie Star
Friday, 15 November
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. (Members)
7:00 – 10:00 p.m. (All)
About the DJ
DJ Charlie Star is a sonic storyteller who fuses Black diasporic music with cosmic rhythms, creating sets that are both intellectually rich and deeply groovy. Drawing from her Afro-Caribbean heritage and research into global Black music, she crafts soundscapes that celebrate resilience and resistance. With a background in Fine Arts and a passion for remix culture, her interdisciplinary approach blends sound, collage, and performance. Whether spinning vinyl or digital tracks, Charlie infuses her sets with astrological insights, transcultural dialogues, and a commitment to uplifting underrepresented voices.
Artist Talk with Dan Hudson
Saturday, 16 November, 2:00 p.m.
Dan Hudson is a Canadian artist who works fluidly between painting, photography, video and new media. His ecologically themed work lives in the fault-lines between the natural world and contemporary culture. From this position, he connects the experience of everyday life with concepts of time, cosmology and existence.
Artist Talk with Nestor Krüger
Thursday, February 20, 7:00 p.m.
Clock Clock, featured in SOS Part III, is the latest iteration of Krüger’s clocks that explore our relationship to time. Time is often understood as moving in only one direction however, Clock Clock offers something different, with the path of time more like a circle than a straight line. Join us as Krüger discusses his artistic practice and the methodology behind Clock Clock.
Curatorial Tour with Darryn Doull
Thursday, 27 February, 7:00 p.m - 8:00 p.m.
Join Curator Darryn Doull for an in-depth tour of the last installment of SOS: A Story of Survival. Part III – The Planet draws attention back to the matter of our world: to the rocks beneath our feet, the air in our lungs and the water throughout and all around us.
Artist Talks sponsored by Momentum Developments and Sorbara Law.
Curatorial Tours are generously sponsored by the Gamble Family.
Image credits
Header: Dan Hudson, Infinite Cave (detail), 2022. Digital video installation, dimensions variable. Installation view from the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre. Photo courtesy of the Artist.
Gallery: Dan Hudson, Infinite Cave, 2022. Digital video installation, dimensions variable. Installation view from the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre. Photo courtesy of the Artist.
Jennifer Murphy, The Shadow of Sirius, 2019. Sand and shells from a second-hand collection. 3 m diameter. Artwork courtesy of the Artist and Clint Roenisch Gallery, photo by Toni Hafkenscheid. The Artist acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.
Melissa Doherty, Cloud Seeding, 2024. Oil on canvas. 127 cm x 127 cm. Photo by the Artist. The Artist acknowledges support from the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario.
Ashley Beerdat, The Space In-Between, 2023. Oil on canvas. 76.2 x 101.6 cm. Image courtesy of the Artist.
Ludovic Boney, Mémoires ennoyées 22, 2021. Inkjet print. 30 x 53 cm. Courtesy of the Artist and Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain.
DJ Charlie Star bio photo courtesy of the Artist, by Zoe Tipper.
Jennifer Murphy, Pearlized Gingko, 2022. Collage made from images found in used books sewn together with thread. 68.6 x 76.2 cm. Artwork courtesy of the Artist and Clint Roenisch Gallery, photo by Toni Hafkenscheid. The Artist acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council.
