EMBODIED EPHEMERA
by Guest Artists Anam Liaqat and Faseeh Saleem
Curatorial advisor: Vladimir Spicanovic

December 1 - 6, 2025

Reception: Thursday, December 4, 5 - 8 pm 
Talk moderated by curatorial advisor: Saturday, December 6, at 2 - 4pm

This exhibition illuminates the practices of two Pakistani-Canadian multidisciplinary artists, Anam Liaqat and Faseeh Saleem, and their shared interest in investigations of memory, ephemeral objects, and materiality of contemporary art making. Working through process-based inquiry, Liaqat and Saleem invite us to consider how found objects and materials can be augmented to embody human presence and evoke memory and a sense of belonging in diaspora. Liaqat’s adaptation of made and ready-made objects, along with her photographic and moving images of still life composition, unfold the cycles of change, decay, and transformation. Saleem’s installations of embroidered photographs and digital prints on canvas extend the meaning of ephemera into the haptic realm -- each thread is loaded with a potential to re-inscribe touch and care into the images that speak of distance and disappearance. Liaqat and Saleem see memory as a lived and a living interface of matter and gesture, feeling and perception, and as a potential to rediscover the poetics of embodying the ephemeral in art making.

The artists gratefully acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council.

Anam Liaqat (bio)
A Pakistani-Canadian interdisciplinary visual artist whose work explores objecthood, visual perception, stillness, and time in contemporary art. She expands painting through installation, photography, digital animation, projection, and sound, bridging traditional and contemporary techniques to create immersive experiences in galleries and public spaces. Exhibiting nationally and internationally, she redefines the relationship between image, object, and viewer, challenging notions of still life. Her practice, rooted in diaspora and cultural identity, reflects on memories and relationships with objects of personal and collective significance. She holds an MFA from OCAD University (2022) and co-founded Articulate Studios, an international artist residency encouraging cross-cultural collaboration.  

Faseeh Saleem (bio)
A Pakistani-Canadian interdisciplinary artist based in Oakville, Ontario. Working at the intersection of art, material inquiry, and embodied research, his practice spans drawing, installation, sculpture, and video. Central to his work are contemporary socio-political themes such as memory, identity, migration, and belonging. His practice explores alternative conceptions of the body and investigates how knowledge is produced through material and process-based approaches. This inquiry is deeply rooted in his doctoral research; he completed his PhD in artistic research at the Swedish School of Textiles, University of Borås, in 2024. During this time, he developed a research-led methodology that intertwines critical theory with experimental material practices. He has exhibited internationally at respected institutions including Artlab Gallery, Western University, London (Canada), Richmond Hill Public Library (Canada), Textile Museum of Borås (Sweden), the 1st International Art Triennial UFNA (Lithuania), Berlin University of the Arts (Germany), and KHOJ Studios (India), among others. These experiences have allowed him to engage with diverse audiences and expand his artistic dialogue across cultures and disciplines.

Vladimir Spicanovic (bio)
An artist-educator and professor in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University (OCAD U), where he served as Dean from 2009 to 2019. Spicanovic's academic leadership work has been driven by his commitments to equity, diversity, interdisciplinary pedagogy, community engagement, and cultural philanthropy.

Land Acknowledgment

The artists acknowledge the ancestral and traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabeg, and the Huron-Wendat, who are the original owners and custodians of the land on which this exhibition takes place.