The Moon Is Often Referred To As A Dead, Barren World, But I Think This Is Not Necessarily The Case

The Contemporary Art Gallery presents a unique one-night installation by Toronto-based artist Diane Borsato. Evolving from a research visit to Vancouver in summer 2016 as part of our Burrard Marina Field House Studio Residency Program, Borsato worked with members of the Japanese flower arranging (Ikebana) community in Vancouver to develop The Moon Is Often Referred To As a Dead, Barren World, But I Think This Is Not Necessarily The Case.

Typical of her practice, Borsato often works with amateur organizations—mycologists, astronomers, beekeepers—in projects that examine social and sensorial modes of knowing. She has been practicing and researching Sogetsu Ikebana for several years.

Taking its title from a statement made by the modern sculptor and Sogetsu founder Teshigahara Sofu in Kadensho: Book of Flowers the work echoes ideas found in the publication in which he imagines making arrangements in another, very different world. For the project, Borsato invites several Ikebana masters from the modern Sogetsu school to participate in a collaborative workshop and installation. The practitioners will work with seasonal materials, and objects, supplies and the space of the gallery building itself to provide a conceptual framework for materializing a dialogue between the worlds of Ikebana—often a highly technical, rule-based traditional cultural practice and contemporary art—with its own unmistakable tropes and cultural specificities.

The project is generously supported by The Vancouver Foundation.

The artist thanks The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, The Canada Council for the Arts and Toronto Arts Council.

Biography

Diane Borsato has established an international reputation for her social and interventionist practices, performance, video, photography, and sculpture. She was twice nominated for the Sobey Art Award and was winner of the Victor Martyn-Lynch Staunton Award for her work in the Inter-Arts category from the Canada Council for the Arts. She has exhibited and performed at major Canadian institutions including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; The Power Plant, Toronto; the Art Gallery of York University, Toronto; MOCCA, Toronto; the Vancouver Art Gallery; the National Art Centre, Ottawa; and in galleries and museums in the US, France, Mexico, Taiwan, and Japan.