Samar Hejazi: Illusions of Separation

Detail of Transgressed Boundaries (2020) by Samar Hejazi; thread, mirrored plexiglass, 1.5 x 1.5 x 2.5 m (approx.).

Illusions of Separation
A solo exhibition by Samar Hejazi

April 1 – April 29, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 1, 1:00-3:00 pm. Artist Gallery Walk at 1:30 pm

Aurora Cultural Centre Temporary Gallery
Aurora Town Hall, 2nd floor, 100 John West Way, Aurora, ON

Illusions of Separation is a solo exhibition of works by Samar Hejazi, a multi-disciplinary artist living between Toronto and Dubai.

Hejazi brings the art of installation into our temporary gallery at Aurora Town Hall. Suspending artworks in open air, Hejazi focuses on the constant transformability of material by playing with light and shadow, vantage points, and shifting perceptions. The work, described by Hejazi, “create(s) a performance that make defining the limitations of boundaries between artwork and viewer imperceptible.”

Persistent in the artist’s work is a constant challenging of the perception of boundary identification, often expressed symbolically through textiles. Embroidery work, for example, is presented with the absence of a fabric foundation; intricate strings simultaneously intertwining and unravelling in open spaces. Through this practice Hejazi challenges the belief that embroidery can only exist with the support of fabric: “I attempt to reveal the complexities of boundaries and question what is considered substance in the identification of a body. This series encourages the viewer to realize that perception of boundaries are continuous interpretations based in the encounter between themselves and the other.”

Please join us Saturday, April 1 from 1-3 pm for the opening reception and artist gallery walk at our temporary gallery at Aurora Town Hall, 2nd floor.

This exhibition will be presented virtually from April 1 – June 3 on our website.

Two sculptures installed together. Left: Untitled Ceramics #3 (2023); Samar Hejazi, Stoneware, 15 x 15 x 17 cm. Right: Untitled Ceramics #4 (2023); Samar Hejazi, Stoneware, 25 x 18 x 18 cm.

Samar Hejazi is a multi-disciplinary visual artist living between Toronto and Dubai. Since graduating with a BFA in new media from Ryerson University in Toronto, she has attended instructional residencies at Arquetopia in Oaxaca, and Puebla in Mexico and Cusco, Peru in 2016 and 2019 respectively. She also attended the Takt Art Residency in Berlin in 2016 and completed a studio residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Toronto in 2019, which concluded in a group show. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Textile Museum of Canada, Warehouse421 in Abu Dhabi, Possum Gallery in Berlin, Motion Art Gallery in Cairo, Egypt and Decentered Gallery in Puebla, Mexico. Her artwork is part of multiple collections around the world.