ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Projects


Intensive Care:
Personal Support Artists


August 4 – 31, 2023

Whippersnapper Gallery

594B Dundas Street West
Toronto

featuring:

Brenda Joy Lem
Charmaine Lurch
docuvixen
Gareth Bate
Louise Liliefeldt
Karen Miranda Augustine

Map and directions

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM Collective presents Intensive Care: Personal Support Artists, August 4 - 31, 2023 at Whippersnapper Gallery, 594B Dundas Street West, Toronto


What does caregiving look like?

From hospital stays to home life, intergenerational connections to PSW work, ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM presents six one-minute videos that reflect the lived experiences of artists who care and the loved ones we look after. Running continuously on loop, these silent shorts will be on view 24/7 at Whippersnapper Gallery.


Video descriptions

Close up of bathing bench in bathtub

Small and Big Things
by Gareth Bate
(2023, 01:03 minutes)

A day in the life of a caregiver, told through my engagement with household objects to show the banality of repetitive daily chores and the beautiful moments.

Selfie of docuvixen wearing blue scrubs

Wake, Walk, Ride, Lift, Wash, Rinse, Ride, Sleep and Repeat. PSW Life
by docuvixen
(2023, 01:02 minutes)

Daily caregiving tasks are repetitive and monotonous. These tasks are often invisible and unrecognized, but they get done by caregivers across the city every day.

Headshot of Charmaine Lurch's mother, standin gin front of a bush of yellow flowers

Reach out and touch
by Charmaine Lurch
(2023, 01:03 minutes)

Out(standing) in lavender fields we inhale.
Listen to bees, reach and stretch a moment of joy.

Screenshot of brown and black stone with the words ' I was staying in the hospital room with my mother, when' typed across it

Witness
by Brenda Joy Lem
(2023, 01:11 minutes)

When I accompanied my mother for extended hospital stays, I often saw patients of colour or from lower classes receive a different quality of care.

Image still of women's feet, walking on the sidewalk wearing slippers

Walk
by Louise Liliefeldt
(2023, 00:52 minutes)

For someone with Alzheimer's or dementia, going for a walk alone can be troubling for their caregiver and loved ones: Where have they gone? Do they know where they are?

Black and white still of a single pill vial on a white lace cloth on table

On the Pill
by Karen Miranda Augustine
(2023, 01:13 minutes)

Administering medication to a loved one is a methodical, everyday balancing act of managing doses, time, drug-drug interactions, and potential contraindications.