In 1925, Humberside Collegiate Institute, one of the oldest high schools in Toronto, commissioned Arthur Lismer of the Group of Seven to produce the largest painting of his career. The painting, simply known as “The Humberside Mural”, depicts the process of European colonization of the Indigenous land that Canada is upon. When observed from left to right, the mural depicts the arrival of Europeans to North America, the instalment of European ideals, and the construction of a young white modern Canada. The painting has been the object of speculation for generations of students from Humberside Collegiate Institute owing to the fact that a huge portion of the painting is missing.
In “The Mystery of the Twisted Fantasy”, Lismer’s Humberside Mural is revisited to imagine what may be contained in the mural's missing piece. The artist collaborates with his childhood friend, Ahmed K., to reimagine the what is within the missing piece, providing a depiction of a contemporary Canada that counters the original intention of Lismer’s mural.
Production of the artwork began in 2018 and was finished through a commission by the City of Toronto for the “Shoaling” project curated by Lillian O'Brien Davis as part of the 2023 edition of Nuit Blanche.
Mystery of the Twisted Fantasy
2018 - 2023
9:10 (M:S)
4k (3840 x 2160)
Actor: Ahmed K.
Score: Rắn Cạp Đuôi - Zach Sch