Artist Statement:
Throughout February 2023, I researched and documented the neighbourhood in Toronto where I am currently situated–Chinatown. This experience encouraged me to slow down, making time to observe, admire, and document the beautiful and unique characteristics of one of Toronto’s most prominent cultural landmarks.
By layering photographs of the area new and old (historical photos sourced from Toronto Archives & the Jean Lumb Foundation double exposed over photographs I shot throughout February,) Toronto Chinatown creates a snapshot of the past and present in the form of collage spreads that display this part of the city with its full character and vibrancy across time.
Nathan Phillips Square (depicted in the last collage) is worth emphasizing among the photographs of Chinatown for its historical context. During the 1950s, when Toronto’s First Chinatown (located along Elizabeth Street,) was expanding, the City of Toronto approved a project, without public consultation, to construct a new City Hall and public square in the area the original Chinatown existed (then, referred to as Toronto Chinatown.) The community was displaced and disrupted, and by 1958, two thirds of the community were expropriated, with their homes and business bulldozed. After Toronto City Hall opened in 1965, the city proposed expropriating even more Chinatown land. However, Jean Lumb, (pictured with the loudspeaker,) was the chair of the Save Chinatown Committee, which successfully prevented further displacement.
Nathan Phillips Square and City Hall now stand on what was once, “Toronto’s First Chinatown.”
