Tau Lewis

Tau Lewis (b. 1993) is a Jamaican-Canadian artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. A self-taught sculptor, Lewis combines methods of construction such as hand carving, sewing and assemblage to create simulations of living things. She considers the history and symbolism of each material, exploring the political boundaries of nature, identity and authenticity. Her work is bodily and organic, with an explicit strangeness and subtle morbidity. Her current practice relies heavily on her surrounding environment; she constructs sculptural portraits using found objects, repurposed materials and live plants sourced from urban and rural landscapes. She connects these acts of repurposing and collecting with diasporic experience. Her portraits are recuperative gestures that counter persistent tendencies to erase or peripheralize marginalized artists and narratives within Canadian art and history. Lewis has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Ontario, NADA Miami and New Museum, New York. She has received support from Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council. Recent and forthcoming exhibition sites include: Atlanta Contemporary, Shrine Gallery, New York, COOPER COLE, Toronto, Art Gallery of York University, Toronto, Oakville Galleries, Toronto, and The Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ont.