29 Sept. 2020

Im Rahmen der Ausstellung «The Incredible World of Photography» redet Aïcha Revellat mit Basler Künstler:innen.

Cassidy Toner (*1994 in Baltimore, USA, lives and works in Basel)

"I use photography as a means of communication", Cassidy Toner says when asked about the role photography plays in her work. Her oeuvre, made up of sculptures, prints, drawings, paintings and photographs, is preceeded by an critical reflexion on viewership and participation. The works are intriguing and playful, filled with references to literature, philosophy and popular culture, attracting the viewers gaze, at the same time rejecting an immersive interaction. Wile E. Coyote, a Warner Bros. cartoon character Toner turned into a series of sculptures and prints personifies the tragical and comical way in which the pursuit of desired objects often plays out. The coyote desperately wants to catch and eat the Road Runner, a fast-running ground cockoo, but despite his elaborate scemes, his attempts are never successful. The large scale photographs of Toners live in atelier which was at the center of her solo show The Unstable 4th Wall in 2019 at PHILLIPZOLLINGER (Zurich) appear to give the spectators a glimpse behind the scenes of the artists work and private space. But the large tears which run across the Tyvek prints throw the viewers back into the gallery space, back upon themselves.

Selected group exhibitions:
13.10.-25.11.2018, Kunstalle Freiburg, CH (2018), "Reset", Kai Matsumiya, New York, USA (2019), Blind Date, Kunstkredit 19, Kunsthalle Basel, CH (2019), The Sand Threshold, MARS, MiArt, Milan, IT (2020).
Solo exhibitions:
The Unstable 4th Wall, Galerie Phillip Zollinger, Zurich, CH (2019), KunstRaumRiehen, Riehen, CH (2020)

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