Enter an immersive world populated by more than 500 miniature clay figures that tell stories about our most urgent social issues.
Enter a world at once familiar and uncanny. Montreal-based artist Karine Giboulo invites visitors into an immersive reimagining of her home at the Gardiner Museum. Brought to life by over 500 miniature polymer clay figures, this is no ordinary house. The figures tell stories that unfold inside, or on, household furniture, appliances, and everyday objects.
Born of the COVID-19 pandemic, "Housewarming" is a logbook of the past two years--a sculpted documentary of individual and collective experiences grounded in current events. The colourful dioramas furnishing each room prompt reflection about the challenges we face as a society, including connectedness and isolation, aging and care, labour and consumerism, the climate crisis, food insecurity, and housing instability.
On the kitchen countertop, a line of people, masked and socially distanced, await access to a food bank. In the bedroom, the drawer of a dresser opens to reveal rows of masked factory workers hunched over industrial sewing machines. In the laundry room, a forgotten iron causes a forest fire, forcing animals to flee their natural habitat.
The more closely you look, the more you will recognize yourself in the scenarios and their protagonists. You may even walk away seeing your own home, and yourself, differently.
Adults: $15
Seniors (65+): $11
Students: Free
Youth 18 and under: Free
2022/10/20 - 2023/05/07
Gardiner Museum
111 Queens Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C7
While there is no on-site parking, there are numerous paid parking lots in the neighbourhood. The Gardiner Museum is located next to Museum Station.
The Gardiner Museum is an accessible venue with a ramp from the street leading up to the main lobby entrance. The entrance is accessible via two sets of double doors with an access button. Accessible restrooms are available on the second and third floors. Third floor washrooms are also gender neutral.