Forest City Gallery is delighted to announce the release of two Limited-Edition Artist Multiples created by London-based artist Monica Joy Peeff and Toronto-based artist Owen Marshall. Responding to the closures and physical distancing measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the artists have worked together to each create a window sign as a means of communicating with the communities that we've all been missing.
Thank You for Being Here Monica Joy Peeff
2020
The pressure to be creative and productive during the slow down of the pandemic weighs heavily on many people, yet the reality is that just being is enough.
Thank You for Being Here is one half of a project initiated by Forest City Gallery. The aim of the project is to remind everyone that they are appreciated in all that they do—from responsible social distancing to working on the frontlines, every role is an important one.
Drawing from the functionality of an "open" and "closed" sign, the project functions as a symbol of solidarity and support; a positive message of reassurance in uncertain times.
CLOSED/CLOSED Sign Owen Marshall
2020
Under normal circumstances, there is an ‘Open’ sign on the opposite side of every ‘Closed’ sign and an ‘Open’ sign on the door of every shop. The function of these signs is to indicate a period—determined by a consistent schedule—one to be open and then one to be closed. A time for work and a time for leisure, both enshrined into and designated by the flipping of a sign.
This schedule, however, is not observed by a pandemic. The continuity of our regular lives has been ruptured alongside the idea of those regular business hours. Perhaps a new sign is necessary.
CLOSED/CLOSED Sign might be a reflection of this novel reality. This is an attempt to salvage some form of continuity in the midst of an impossible future. While the new reality may no longer allow for a time to be open and a time to be closed, there is still a sign to flip for the indefinite present. Or perhaps just exist as a small novelty to display in a window until the lockdown is over and a souvenir from this moment, should it ever pass.
As a COVID-themed project and fundraiser, we will be donating a portion of proceeds directly toward Life Spin. Life Spin is a London-based organization doing incredible economic development work at the community level and providing vital support to those who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Please click the DONATE link below and donate $10 to reserve your copy of Thank You for Being Here or CLOSED/CLOSED Sign. When making your donation please remember to share your add
ress with FCG so we can mail you your Artist Multiple.Â
Monica Joy Peeff is an emerging artist in Ontario, Canada. Their artistic practice contextualizes web-enabled interactions with a focus on dependency and connection in media such as c
eramics, digital works, drawing and installation.
Owen Marshall is an artist and printmaker based in Toronto, Ontario. In his studio practice, Marshall attempts to note the authority and agency useful objects possess when they are manufactured and distributed en masse. His work explores the potential to render visible some usually obscured fundamental insights by stressing the often didactic characteristics of these objects with irreverence and humour. Marshall holds a BFA from OCAD University and was the recipient of the 2019 printmaking medal at Gradex 104.
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