Soul Bridges
Pedro Alderete, Sinara Rozo
A Space Windows
December 7, 2005 – January 6, 2006
Copresented by: aluCine Toronto Latin@ Media Festival
A Space Gallery will present a special exhibition entitled Soul Bridges by the late Pedro Alderete (1961-2005) in the A Space WINDOWS Gallery. This selection of mixed media paintings and drawings was organized in commemoration of the life and work of the artist who was an active member of the A Space Board from last January until his untimely death on October 17, 2005.
In addition to the WINDOWS exhibition, A Space will collaborate with aluCine Toronto Latin Media Festival to host Songs of Peace and Thunder: An Evening for Pedro, a special one evening video screening and art exhibit in the gallery on Monday, December 12th, 2005 from 7:00-9:00 PM. This will be the premier screening of Eulogy for Pedro by Sinara Rozo. According to Rozo, the short experimental video is a celebration (and not just a mourning) of life, depicting a friend’s passion for art and love for life. The piece combines photomontage and complex structures of layering and editing to recreate both the vividness of his life and the immensity of the loss.
Biographies
Born in Havana Cuba, Pedro’s background shaped much of his work. He studied at the San Alejandro Academy of the Arts, where his ideological learnings clashed with that of Castro’s socialist state. Coming to Canada in 1989, he worked as a barber before being accepted with advanced standing at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Active in various aspects of Toronto cultural life, Pedro’s inventive, unself-conscious and eclectic approach to materials and media were consistently engaged in his concern for the world’s humanity and the human condition. The works that Pedro developed over the years drew on a variety of sources and inspirations such as Cuban religious iconography, Cuban tourism, snapshots, military photos and architecture. Using found objects, painting, collage, photo-transfers, performance or installation to express his ideas, like his life, his work crossed borders, cultures and communities. He built narratives to communicate his ongoing concerns in efforts to raise awareness around numerous social-political issues including war, racism, mental health and AIDS.