Casey Mecija: Psychic Material

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Casey Mecija, "Psychic Materials," at Plug in ICA

On Thursday, April 20, Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art in collaboration with The Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies (U of W), and Queer People of Color (QPOC) presents Psychic Materials, a performance by scholar, musician and performance artist, Casey Mecija.

For her presentation at Plug In ICA, Mecija will draw on her background as a musician in the orchestral pop band Ohbijou and recent solo projects. She will perform amidst Patrick Cruz’s immersive installation Titig Kayumanggi (Brown Gaze) currently on exhibition at Plug In ICA. Mecija and Cruz are linked by a mutual concern with the diasporic experience of migration from the Philippines. Mecija’s performance is sonically informed by her recent solo album Psychic Materials and will use a mash up of video and GIF art, performance, and sound to meditate on “the queer dynamics of diaspora”.

Finding space within aesthetic practice to visualize what she refers to as “queer feelings, Filipina subjectivity and diasporic longing”, Psychic Materials puts forward two propositions: “What is the psychic life of music? What is the soundtrack to diasporic experience?”

Casey Mecija is a multidisciplinary artist working primarily in music and film. From 2004 to 2014, Mecija was a writer and singer for the Canadian orchestral pop band, Ohbijou and in 2016 she released her first solo album, Psychic Materials. Mecija was awarded the WIFT-T Award (Women in Film and Television) at the 2013 Reel Asian Film Festival for her short film “My Father, Francis” which screened at Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, Toronto; Mixed Shorts: Local Heroes, Toronto; and the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Mecija is actively involved in queer and Filipina organizing. She is currently completing a PhD at The University of Toronto, where she researches art, media and cultural studies as they relate to queer diaspora.

This artist talk is presented as part of Plug In ICA’s Respondent Series, which invites professionals from diverse fields to respond to the themes and subjects addressed in our exhibitions.