Artwork

Created from pre-cast concrete and sculpted shotcrete, these three Adad Hannah designed sculptures are a nod to the historical industrial past of Toronto’s waterfront. The mass of the sculptures are made of sculpted shotcrete that was blasted onto a steel framework and galvanized mesh. The sculptures are designed to mimic the early living spaces found in Fort York, most notably its mess hall, brick storehouse, and stone fortification. Hannah discusses his work as contentious with the Gardiner overpass, but makes note that Yard Stones allows for people to carve out a small space for themselves in the presence of these small domiciles.

Adad Hannah explores historically trenchant themes through the artistic mediums of  installation, video, and photography. Inspired by the art style of tableaux vivants, Hannah’s overall practice makes reference to early photography by mimicking paintings at a time when it was the very goal of photography to do so. Time occupies a prominent place in Hannah’s production, forged by a lasting interest in temporality and its complex relationship with photography and video. Hannah adds to this history by bridging, or blurring, the divide between the tableau in photography and its originating form as living.