About this event
Visual ArtCurated by Zoë Foster
Koffler Arts welcomes Governor General’s Award winning artist Cybèle Young to the Koffler Gallery for the international debut of her exhibition, Kamiphony, curated by Zoë Foster.
At the centre of the exhibition is a pantheon of kinetic paper machines. Over time, each sculptural object performs a small, repetitive action. Lighting and sound amplification accompany their movements, creating a shifting tableau of motion, dancing shadows, and sound.
These kinetic sculptures are situated within a long tradition that has championed uselessness. From Aristotle to Baroque automata, from Bruno Munari to Jean Tinguely’s anarchic sculptures, philosophers and artists have repeatedly returned to this idea. By engaging with these historical debates, Young invites viewers to consider our present-day predicament. The sculptures’ refusal to be efficient mirrors a contemporary moment in which we are re-examining the value of work as a result of COVID-19.