Shary Boyle | Outside the Palace of Me

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Shary Boyle, "Centering," 2021

coin operated pottery wheel, electronics, wood, textiles, foot pedal, collaborative textile design with Grant Heaps, Courtesy of the Artist, Photo: John Jones.

Outside the Palace of Me is a major exhibition of new work by Canadian visual artist and performer Shary Boyle. Inspired by the lyrics in the 2017 song “Europe Is Lost” by UK poet Kae Tempest, Outside the Palace of Me assembles Boyle’s ever-mounting anxieties about global and social crises, within the inclusive context of identity theatre.

Reflecting on contemporary constructions of self through the language of costume, character, set design and stage effects, Boyle explores how we see each other and how we see ourselves. Outside the Palace of Me is a multisensory installation including drawings, ceramic sculpture, life-sized automatons, two-way mirrors, coin-operated sculpture and an interactive score. Reimagining the museum as a collective performance space, the artist worked closely with a scenic designer, robotics engineer, amusement park innovator and costume artist to joyfully envision a set for humane, playful imagination.