IRIS HÄUSSLER
HONEST THREADS
Exhibition
Koffler Gallery at Honest Ed’s, 2009
Photo documentation by Isaac Applebaum
In a crossover between visual art, literature and theatre, Iris Häussler creates immersive environments that reveal personal histories, real or fictional. Both imitating and challenging museum practices, Häussler integrates found and fabricated archives and artifacts in her installations, raising questions about the demarcation between art and everyday life. Responding to the Koffler Gallery’s invitation to develop the first project in a new off-site program, Häussler chose Toronto’s famous landmark, Honest Ed’s, to host an installation that engages the GTA public in sharing real life stories.
Honest Threads displays garments and the memories they carry. Lent by ordinary Torontonians as well as local celebrities, each item holds a personal story revealing a glimpse of the many threads that weave our identity over time. Visitors are able to borrow the garments for a few days and wear them, experiencing both literally and psychologically what it is like to “walk in someone else’s shoes.” At the same time, they add new layers to the clothes’ history. Trading experiences on both tactile and narrative levels will enrich our collective perception of the place we call home. As pieces of a vast puzzle, these individual stories render a fragmentary portrait of the city, attesting to its complex history.
With its overload of celebrity photographs and eccentric sales items, Honest Ed’s is no ordinary store but a museum in itself, blurring the boundaries between commercial, public and exhibition spaces. The place equally attests to the inspiring story of its founder, Ed Mirvish. The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria, his philanthropic gestures and his important contributions to Toronto’s cultural scene had an invaluable impact on the city. Spotlighting Honest Ed’s significance as a haven for newcomers to Canada, Honest Threads ultimately positions the store as the meeting point of individual Toronto stories of immigration, survival and childhood dreams, entwined with the city’s cultural history.
With its overload of celebrity photographs and eccentric sales items, Honest Ed’s is no ordinary store but a museum in itself, blurring the boundaries between commercial, public and exhibition spaces. The place equally attests to the inspiring story of its founder, Ed Mirvish. The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria, his philanthropic gestures and his important contributions to Toronto’s cultural scene had an invaluable impact on the city. Spotlighting Honest Ed’s significance as a haven for newcomers to Canada, Honest Threads ultimately positions the store as the meeting point of individual Toronto stories of immigration, survival and childhood dreams, entwined with the city’s cultural history.
Artist Info
Iris Häussler was born in Friedrichshafen, Germany and immigrated to Toronto in 2001. She studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich and has exhibited widely throughout Europe. She is best known for her off-site installations in which she constructs fictitious personae through the material environment in which they live. Locations have included rented apartments (Ou topos, 1989; Ou topos, 1990; Mneme, 1996; Monopati, 2000), hotel rooms (Propolis, 1993) and most recently an entire residential house in downtown Toronto for The Legacy of Joseph Wagenbach (2006), an installation curated by Rhonda Corvese. Häussler's interest lies in the range of reactions of her protagonists to their life circumstances, while a complementary part of her work focuses on the visitor. Interactive installations explore human existence and biography, including collections of human milk (Paidi, 1994) or institutional laundry (On Loan, 1995), interventions in hotel rooms (Piggyback, 1995), redefining the gallery as an overnight sleeping space (Xenotope, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2000) or exchanging clothes (Transition coat, 1999).
