Witnesses of the Past
Featuring the photography of Sherry Prenevost, Amber Briden and Emily Briden
Third Floor Gallery
January 8 - April 26, 2024
Spaces across South Etobicoke offer traces of history, witnessing the changing use of land over the past one hundred and thirty years.
The structures of the former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital and it’s lesser-known cemetery, are testaments to these changes. Layers of identity and purpose from the hospital’s operation and subsequent closure mark the transition from medical facility to an educational institution and public park.
Through changes and renovations, the physical site remains the most enduring marker of memory to those who lived and laboured over months, years, or decades at this site. These features create connections across time through shared space.
Website: SherryPrenevostPhotography.com
Instagram: @SherryPrenevostPhotography
Exhibition Curator: Isabella Conte
The Project
In the spring and summer of 2023 Sherry Prenevost, Amber Briden, and Emily Briden photographed places in, around (and under) campus. They sought out patches of original paint and shadows of once used doorways as we moved along the corridors of the underground tunnels. Above ground, we discussed what it may have been like to experience these spaces as a patient of the former hospital. As our conversations flowed, we felt the thousands of other stories we may never fully know within these historical spaces. As these spaces change over time, they bear witness to the lives and experiences of those who came before.
Exhibition Reception
March 21, 2024
