This Art Works! 'Doctor's Notes Against Intolerance' and normalizing BDSM with sculptures
Using a variety of methods (ball-gags, blanket forts, menstrual blood and more!), this art works for change
In the premiere episode of This Art Works!, our host "The Head" — a Greco-Roman sculptural bust — gets advice from artist Leaf Jerlefia about how to respond to microaggressions through her art project "Doctor's Notes Against Intolerance." The Head also learns to embrace his true self with help from artist Kayla Polan and her playful "BDSM Sculptures." Meanwhile, two selfie-obsessed millennials (played by Chris Wilson and Isabel Kanaan) are on a dramatic quest for the perfect art gallery pic.
There are artists who make pretty pictures to hang on your mantle. This Art Works! is not about those artists. A new original series for CBC Arts, This Art Works! is a subversively surreal showcase of provocative projects by Canadian artists tackling today's most pressing and controversial issues. Using a variety of artistic methods (ball-gags, street signs, blanket forts, and menstrual blood just to name a few), the artists let their imaginations run wild to make art work for social change. With a supporting cast of comedians, This Art Works! fuses the wholesomeness of children's television with an absurdist comedic bent, creating a bizarre world unlike any other.
Created by art collective Madeleine Co. and produced in partnership with OCAD University, This Art Works! is the gleeful mix of '90s nostalgia, comedy, and contemporary art practice you didn't know you needed. Watch episodes one and two now!