The biennial celebration of art comes back for the third time to Toronto from September 21 to December 1, 2024. This year the title of the 2024 Toronto Biennial of Art is called Precarious Joys which takes place at 12 locations, including the Toronto Sculpture Garden at 115 King Street East.
You can find the art locations as follows, "The Toronto Biennial of Art will have a central exhibition and programs hub at 32 Lisgar Street, in the heart of West Queen Street West. TBA will operate two additional hubs on the 9th floor of 158 Sterling Road and at Collision Gallery. TBA 2024 exhibitions and programs will take place at the following venues: ● 32 Lisgar Street ● The Auto Bldg, 158 Sterling Road ○ 9th Floor ● Collision Gallery, 30 Wellington Street West ● Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas Street West ● Gallery TPW, 170 St Helens Ave ● TIFF Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King St W, TIFF Gallery ● Toronto Sculpture Garden, 115 King Street East ● Toronto Union Station, 55 Front Street ● The Image Centre (TMU), 33 Gould St, Toronto, University Gallery ● The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, 231 Queens Quay West"
In the little parkette off King Street you can find a futuristic, cosmic fighter ready for a cowboy-sci-fi crossover as the flying machine has a lot of fringe, swaying in the breeze. Sponsored by the Biennia along with the City of Toronto this installation will remain until March 20, 2025 and if you close your eyes you can almost hear the "pew pew pew" of the laser canons blasting away.
From the City's Sculpture Garden website, "Vimana (N1 Starfighter) (2024) is a newly commissioned sculptural installation. This sculpture is the latest in a series of spacecraft lanterns that draw inspiration from mainstream science fiction and Traditional Buddhist Vesak kūdu. The lanterns are historically made from bamboo and rice paper and are constructed with symbolic geometry; Rajni’s modern rendition features plywood and translucent acrylic lit with LED lights. The work explores themes of spacefaring and immigration, incorporating the Sanskrit term vimāna (which has various meanings related to flying) to challenge Western narratives of advanced aerospace technology.
Rajni Perera is an artist whose practice explores themes of hybridity, ancestral connections, the future, and migrant and marginalized identities, as well as the realms of monsters and dreamscapes through the lens of science fiction. Rajni’s concepts intertwine across various artistic mediums, from traditional drawing and painting to clay sculpting, woodworking, lantern crafting, new media sculpture, textiles, and the innovative realm of synthetic taxidermy. She unveils the vitality inherent in the icons, beings, and objects she brings forth. Through a subversive approach, she dismantles outdated narratives of oppression, allowing these creations to serve as a healing and rejuvenating force."