Exhibition Review: Triumphant Alliance of the Ubiquitous Blossoms of Incarnate Souls by Tau Lewis
Presented by the Cooper Cole art gallery in Toronto, Ontario from October 17th to November 28th, Triumphant Alliance of the Ubiquitous Blossoms of Incarnate Souls by Tau Lewis was the artist’s first solo show at Cooper Cole. The Toronto-born artist explored themes of motherhood, knowledge, and growth using her larger-than-life textile sculptures. The show features three large-scale sculptural installations, which occupy the gallery’s main floor, basement, and storage unit. These take the form of large, somewhat humanoid figures surrounded by blossoms attached to the figures themselves and hanging from the ceiling. While the show was in place, a litany of gallery visitors took to social media to pose with the gigantic sculptures. Given the waves of Instagram posts with the floral works, this exhibition became widely successful within the Toronto arts and fashion scene.
Made entirely of hand-dyed household fabrics, such as towels, sheets, curtains, blankets, and clothing in hues of pink, yellow, cream, and purple, the sculptural figures that make up the show emulate a soft sunset and the early colours of springtime. Having been collecting materials from Canada and New York for quite some time, Lewis describes the timeline of these sculptures as having begun years ago. This show explores themes of abundance and growth, using the image of un-gendered motherhood and gardens. This is seen clearly in Lewis’ creation of figures which lack gender and simultaneously embody fertility, but also in her use of a palette that is “meant to resemble a light-filled womb” (Lewis 2020).
On the main floor, we see Delight, a life-size figure in a seated position being both surrounded and held in place by garlands of fabric flowers suspended from the ceiling. Moving into the basement, one encounters Symphony, a larger-than-life sculpture that has the torso of a human, which flows out into a heavy skirt-like portion, covering its legs. Here we see, once again, the presence of garlands of flowers attached to long strips of leather, this time suspended directly above the figure, being held in its hands, as well as emanating from beneath its skirt. Lastly, in the Cooper Cole Storage space resides the Ovule, a larger-than-life head, with exaggerated earlobes and an even further exaggerated tongue that reaches from the door to the head at the back of the storage space. Around the head we see the repeated floral garlands hanging down from the ceiling, and along the tongue there are a variety of shapes and fabrics, creating a texture and storyline leading into the mouth of the Ovule.
While this exhibition may seem small given its make-up of only three pieces, understanding the complexity of each piece is unavoidable when in their presence. All three works are hand-sewn, as well as made up of materials collected over years and from multiple cities the artist visits often. The necessarily collaborative nature of building these pieces harkens back to the community-based quilting and sewing bees prominent throughout African Canadian and African American history. Lewis’ works demonstrate a keeping with tradition while continuing to address contemporary issues, such as the sexualization of the black body and the unpaid labour often done by femmes in the spheres of private life.
As a black woman, it is impossible for me to see these works by Tau Lewis and not see myself in them. The large lips, wide hips, and oversized features may seem to some cartoonish, but to me, they are familiar and beautiful. This likening of the black woman to the source of all knowledge and birth is both validating and celebratory and is one of the most important aspects of this exhibition in my opinion. At such a time when the black community is left reeling from the events of the summer, this exhibition is a reminder of the abundance of joy and love that comes from within one’s self and one’s community.