Melissa Aytenfisu’s most recent exhibition of paintings, drawings, digital prints and photographs makes a sharp inquiry on the notion of mobility in the 21st century. The various components of the installation flow seamlessly together, bound by their common focus on human migration, both individual and collective. Some of the works convey physical or literal aspects of human mobility; others illuminate more abstract concepts of change within social, cultural and economic hierarchies. Throughout her works, Aytenfisu weaves a common thread that allows the spectators to understand mobility as both a challenging and transformative feature of the human experience.
The exhibition is born out of Aytenfisu’s personal migration experiences which have in turn made her further aware of others experiences. Rooted in Edmonton Alberta, where she was born and raised, Aytenfisu was transplanted to Montreal, where she has studied and worked for much of the last ten years. A two year stint as a teacher and artist in Macau, China, along with several visits to her ancestral home of Ethiopia further molded her perspectives on place and identity. In both its subjects and themes, Aytenfisu’s artwork has been organically suffused with the rich worldview which she developed as a consequence of her own mobility.
Throughout the Mobility series, Aytenfisu invites the spectator to share the beauty and engage with the energy of her subjects as they perform various forms of mobility. She also challenges the viewer to understand, and perhaps question, the contemporary global paradigms which either promote or inhibit human mobility across social, cultural and economic barriers.
A huge thanks to exhibition Designer Genevieve Wallen! :)
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