Early Days
Early Days I, graphite on paper, work in progress, 48″ x 96″, 2019-20
This new body of work is currently in progress. It began in 2019, and will continue with a series of life-size drawings of Francesca and I, engaged in both tender moments and in physical struggle. This project sheds light on the continual and daily struggle that is the early years with a neuro-diverse child.
Dad’s Chair
Graphite on paper, 9” x 12”, 2015
5 years after the passing of Toni’s father, the artist was asked to illustrate her sister’s book “How to Become a Spiritual Medium“. The drawing of their later father’s chair was part of collection of drawings included in the book.
Vancouver Special
Vancouver Special, graphite on paper, 9” x 12”, 2016
A twice commissioned work. In the private collections of Connie Buna and another private collector.
All Bodies Draw
Amy: all bodies drawing, graphite in sketchbook, 10” x 10”, 2013
Amy: Fried Chicken Dreams, graphite in sketchbook, 10” x 10”, 2013
A group all-bodies drawing session yielded these results.
Feels Like Home to Me
Feels Like Home to Me, 34 graphite drawings by Toni Latour and Studio Assistants, 2007-present
This body of drawings is paired with a video installation that addresses the concept of home. The houses depicted here are drawn from the 25 homes that Toni has lived in from infancy to adulthood. The birds are native to all the areas Toni has lived. She went back to visit all the homes and perform in front of them for the video installation. She took photographs that were used to make the drawings. Her mother, Esther, brought her to the first 2 homes that she could not recall herself. This project is ongoing.
Jack and Toni
Jack and Toni, graphite on paper, 10” x 8.5”, 2005
This piece was commissioned and sold by Artspeak Gallery, Vancouver, for their annual fundraiser. It was accompanied by a handmade embroidered squeaky toy and a matching double-collared leash. The piece speaks humorously to the interconnected and interdependent relationship between the artist and her dog.
Andy, Andy, Ed, Marcel and Me
Andy, Andy, Ed, Marcel and Me, graphite on paper, 10” x 8.5” each, 2001
Andy, Andy, Ed, Marcel and Me was originally designed as an artist project for MIX Magazine for their Winter 2001 edition called: Attention Economies. Five separate drawings and texts were digitally compiled into one piece to fit the format of the magazine, but were later exhibited individually. The piece depicts a portrait and quote from Andy Warhol, Ed Keinholz, Marcel Duchamp, Toni Latour and a statement about Andy Kaufman. Each quote or statement makes reference to the labour of the artist.
Text for Andy, Andy, Ed, Marcel and Me:
Andy Kaufman: Andy Kaufman at the peak of his television career.
Andy Warhol: “I really believe in empty spaces, although, as an artist, I make a lot of junk. Empty space is never wasted space. Wasted space is any space that has art in it. An artist is somebody who produces things that people don’t need…So on the one hand, I really believe in empty spaces, but on the other hand, because I’m still making art, I’m still making junk for people to put in their spaces that I believe should be empty: i.e. I’m helping people waste their space when what I really want to do is help them empty their space.”
Ed Keinholz: “To be an artist would probably be someone who was trying to avoid an honest days work. That would be the attitude of the people in the community where I was raised. And it might be that I moved toward construction because that was a tool situation, with a hammer and a nail and a pair of pliers to make art would be a more feasible process than to stand in front of a canvas and make brush strokes.”
Marcel Duchamp: “Marcel, no more painting, go get a job.”
Toni Latour: You can do it! You’re good. And even if you weren’t… you keep doing it. And that’s what matters.
Eyes on the Back of My Head
Eyes on the Back of My Head, diptych, graphite on paper, 19.5” x 20” each, 2002
Drawing allows a freedom to create objects that would otherwise be very difficult to make. Eyes on the Back of My Head depicts the artist wearing a pair of fictional spectacles that allow her to look at the back of her own head. In an illogical manner, this piece concerns itself with ideas of self-scrutiny and anxiety around keeping up. Self-monitoring is taken to an absurd level in this Orwellian work.
Since 1975
Since 1975, graphite and pencil crayon on paper, 50″ x 50″, 2007
From the ubiquitous microwave oven to the life-saving MRI machine, this piece examines the fads, products and inventions that have shaped and changed our lives over the last 3 decades. Humour enters into the 81 drawing work as Apple’s Ipod sits close by an actual apple with a syringe poking out of it, suggesting the current state of our genetically modified food supply. In that vein, Dolly (1996-2003), the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell, is positioned on the grid opposite the 1980’s pop phenomenon Chia Pet, looking oddly similar in shape. Objects of great importance mingle with their lesser counterparts, but all have, no doubt, captured some part of our collective consciousness. The artist’s research dates back to her birth year, 1975.
