Emma Nishimura & Linda Sormin: Gestures of Remembering
Through their distinct artistic practices, Emma Nishimura and Linda Sormin use their chosen mediums as languages to delve into family ancestries, histories of displacement, and personal identities. In Gestures of Remembering, Nishimura and Sormin embark on personal journeys in collaboration with their family members, seeking to recall and unravel the intricate tapestries of their family histories. This exploration brings to light the fallible nature of memory and generational storytelling, emphasizing the profound necessity to hold onto these narratives. As they uncover and confront the inherited traumas of colonial and political violence, Nishimura and Sormin engage in a poignant process of healing, archiving, and honouring these generational wounds. Working with their hands to form and mould clay, reproduce intricate dress patterns, and transcribe interviews and mythologies, both artists present works that stand as testaments to the resilience of memory and the enduring importance of preserving familial legacies.
Emma Nishimura is a Toronto-based artist who works with a range of media, including printmaking, photography, sculpture and installation and has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her work is in a number of public and private collections, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Japanese Canadian National Museum and the Library of Congress. She is the recipient of the Queen Sonja Print Award 2018. Emma Nishimura received her MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her BA from the University of Guelph, and is an Assistant Professor at OCAD University.
Born in Thailand, Linda Sormin immigrated to Canada at the age of five. Sormin lives and works in New York City, and is Associate Professor of Studio Art at New York University. She has taught ceramics at Emily Carr University, Rhode Island School of Design, Sheridan College and Alfred University. In 2023, Sormin presented an immersive multi-media installation on view at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston as part of 'Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence' which then toured to the Seattle Art Museum. Sormin's work has recently been shown at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, and Peach Corner Gallery in Copenhagen, and Messums in Wiltshire, UK. Notable collections include the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK, Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, NY, Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington DC, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and The Gardiner Museum, Toronto.
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Sadia Dao (how far?), 202311 x 40.25 x 5 in.Linda SorminCAD 12,400.00
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Sup-sohn (complexity), 201912 x 14 x 12 inchesLinda SorminCAD 8,800.00
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Baan Rao (my house), 2023 - 202415 x 22.5 x 14 in.Linda SorminCAD 10,000.00
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Patterns of Memory, 202425.5 x 15 in.
UniqueEmma NishimuraCAD 4,000.00 -
Shikata ga nai: Nothing can be done about it , 202419 x 33.75 in.
Varied edition of 2Emma NishimuraCAD 5,800.00 -
Shikata ga nai: It cannot be helped, 202436.5 x 12 in.
Varied edition of 2Emma NishimuraCAD 5,400.00 -
Ingot (to remember), 202125 x 23 x 15 in.Linda SorminCAD 14,400.00
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Siak (spicy), 20245.75 x 6.5 x 5 in.Linda SorminSold
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Mandai (to taste), 202410.75 x 8.5 x 7.5 in.Linda SorminCAD 4,600.00
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Shirt, 202414 x 17 in.
Varied edition of 3Emma NishimuraCAD 3,000.00 -
Seeking Solace, 2023Varied edition of 3
14 x 15 in.Emma NishimuraCAD 3,000.00 -
Federick Avenue, 202414 x 17 in.
Varied edition of 3Emma NishimuraCAD 3,000.00 -
Sarita , 2023-20248.25 x 25 x 8 in.Linda SorminCAD 7,600.00
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Manurat (to write), 2023-20243.5 x 12.5 x 3.8 inchesLinda SorminCAD 4,500.00
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Mambahen (to make happen), 202414 x 11 in x 3 in.Linda SorminCAD 4,500.00
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Carrying On, 202417 x 14 in.
Varied edition of 3Emma NishimuraCAD 3,000.00 -
A Present Absence, 202214 x 17 in.Emma NishimuraCAD 3,000.00
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Origin Myths, 202456 x 265 in.Linda Sormin
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Bokni Ari (evening), 202317 x 35 x 26 in. x 17 x 18 x 14 in.Linda SorminCAD 14,600.00
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Slocan City, 20197.75 x 11 in.
Edition of 9Emma NishimuraCAD 1,800.00 -
New Denver, 20194.5 x 11.5 in.
Edition of 7
Emma NishimuraCAD 1,800.00 -
Bay Farm, 20195 x 11.5 in.
Edition of 8Emma NishimuraCAD 1,800.00 -
Marjanji (promise), 202423 x 26 in.Linda SorminSold
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Mala (generous), 202423 x 26 in.Linda SorminSold
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Hagogo-on (power), 202427 x 32 in.Linda Sormin