Two works in a series stand apart in the otherwise colourless exhibition. Elsa Mora\u2019s “Core #1” and “Core #2” are composed of a digital print of a pig’s heart on canvas. The Cuban born artist cites sacrifices she witnessed in childhood such as the slaughtering of swine and the imprisonment of her father. An urgency to survive is discernible in these works, as is a longing for presence. Over the top of each photograph is a Cuban coat of arms, one of which is rendered in a meticulous etching, the other with tangled thread and far less precision.<\/p>\n Mora bears even more in her “Weightless” series. The multi-media works incorporate self-portraits taken during a challenging period in the artist’s life when she felt compelled to turn inward and confront the human mind. Heaviness and lightness are at play in these pictures. While “Weightless #3” uses stones to convey life\u2019s burdens, “Weightless #5” takes flight with a translucent paper moth wing. Mora\u2019s work certainly has a charming aesthetic but at its essence is tender, honest, and capable of inspiring self-awareness.<\/p>\n “Finding Love”, a video by Vessna Perunovich is included in the exhibition as well as “Moments of Consequence”, an ongoing project consisting of a series of figurative red ink drawings. Each work captures a life-defining moment that provides insight into the human condition. While some depict interpersonal relationships, many display a solitary figure in relationship with the environment and self. There is universality in this variety of emotion as there is vitality in it’s rendering.<\/p>\n Anila Rubiku uses chain imagery to explore the pleasures and pains of love relationships. Having the capacity to lift and protect, chains can also be used to control and punish. In her “Consequences of Love” series, silkscreen impressions illustrate heaps of chains accompanied by American blues lyrics. \u201cSet Me Free,\u201d \u201cI Can Hardly Speak,\u201d \u201cWhy Do Fools Fall In Love\u201d convey the heavy realities of some love affairs, alluding to themes around domestic violence. In contrast, “He Ain\u2019t Heavy, He\u2019s My Lover” is a testament to the lightness of some other kinds of love. What appears to be a weighty chain is in fact a plastic replica and measures less than a tenth of an ounce.<\/p>\n Drawing on her experiences living in the West Coast, Carly Butler\u2019s work looks at themes of physical and psychological survival. “Certain mistakes are of frequent occurrence” is a truly striking work of resin that takes the form of an anchor and suspends in mid air. When met by the suns rays from the overhead skylight, it appears illusory. A sense of longing is established for something or someone to swoop down, grab hold of us, and assume the weight that often feels too heavy to bear.<\/p>\n “Hourglass” and “Sphered” are two contrasting sculptures by Hyang Cho. Each is constructed from glass but while one work expands the material to establish lightness, the other compresses it to establish weight. Together they represent a dichotomy that I found runs throughout the exhibition both in practice and theme. It would seem that strength and weakness, heaviness and lightness, and absence and presence are dualities that are part of most every woman\u2019s narrative despite place of origin, experiences past, or realities present. As long as the heart continues to beat, there is opportunity to modify the future.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/rsz_life_bearing_elsa_mora.jpg\" "\\"rsz_life_bearing_elsa_mora\\"")
<\/a>Elsa Mora, Core #1 and Core #2, 2016, digital print, string, canvas, 60″ x 40″ each. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli<\/p>\n<\/a>Elsa Mora, Core #1, 2016, digital print, string, canvas, 60″ x 40″. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli<\/p>\n<\/a>Elsa Mora, Weightless #5 (left) and #3 (right) 2016, mixed media (photos, cotton thread, paper), 20″ x 20″ framed each. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli<\/p>\n<\/a>Vessna Perunovich, Moments of Consequence, 2010-ongoing, watercolour paper, ink, 16″ x 12″ each. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli<\/p>\n<\/a>Installation view with\u00a0Vessna Perunovich’s work. Photo: Vanessa Zeoli<\/p>\n<\/a>Anila Rubiku,\u00a0250 grams of love; 8,82 ounces of love series: He Ain\u2019t Heavy, He\u2019s My Lover, 2016, plastic, paint, 39.5″ x 10.25″ x 6.75″. Courtesy of Georgia Scherman Projects<\/p>\n<\/a>Carly Butler, Certain mistakes are of frequent occurrence, 2016, resin, edition of 3, 48″ x 22″, detail.Courtesy of Georgia Scherman Projects<\/p>\n