Thomas J Price, “Within the Folds (Dialogue I),” 2020
cast silicon bronze, 9' x 27" x 27" installation view at Dundas and McCall outside the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (private collection © Thomas J Price, photo © AGO)
At a time when public sculptures of people involved in difficult chapters of colonial history are being pulled down, a new figurative sculpture that centres the Black experience has been installed outside the Art Gallery of Ontario.
British artist Thomas J Price's nine-foot bronze sculpture of a Black man dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, is titled Within the Folds (Dialogue I).
Price is known for bronze sculptures of Black figures, often monumentally sized and towering over passersby. They are composites, drawn from life sketches and 3D scanning technology. The intent is to confront viewers with their own reactions to Black bodies in public spaces.
"Price’s powerful figures reimagine the landscape of public sculpture, centring the Black experience," says the gallery. "It’s no surprise that his practice has recently been tethered to the politically charged global conversation surrounding historical statues. The materiality, scale and meaning presented in his sculptures makes them feel – for many – like the perfect replacement for problematic colonial monuments."
The sculpture is a collaboration with ArtworxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022, a celebration of public art across the city.
Source: Art Gallery of Ontario