Sphinx, 2015

Luis Jacob - Toronto, Canada

Sculpture

The city of Toronto is changing before our eyes. Neighbourhoods and skylines are transformed seemingly overnight while, less conspicuously, the social fabric of the city is altered in ways that are difficult to discern.

At this moment, the time is right for residents of Toronto to visit the Sphinx – an entity whose enigmatic presence poses the questions that we ardently want to ask.

A pavilion features a sculpture on a pedestal and display tables containing books and pamphlets about Toronto.

The sculpture is a larger-than-life male youth depicted walking in mid-stride and headless. He holds his hands in front of the void where his face would be and forms a frame with his fingers that captures our attention. Surrounding the sculpture is a group of display tables that contain a library of publications about Toronto, which have been published over the past 50 years.

Together, these elements create a space to consider ourselves in new relations to the city that we inhabit.

Born in Lima, Peru, Luis Jacob is a Toronto-based multimedia artist and curator concerned with notions of collectivity and increasingly with acts of looking and meaning-making. 

2

Allan Gardens (Children's Conservatory)

19 Horticultural Avenue

This project is indoors.