The Death of Dishonest Abdel

In this performance, multidisciplinary artist 2Fik creates a new photo-based work reinterpreting Benjamin West’s 1770 painting, The Death of General Wolfe, an emblematic example of Canadian history represented through a colonial lens.

The original painting dramatically depicts the fall of General James Wolfe during the 1759 Battle of Quebec, celebrating him as a national hero and a symbol of British dominance in late eighteenth century North America. Subverting the patriarchal, whitewashing viewpoint, 2Fik’s vibrant characters of mixed genders, ethnicities and faiths infuse new meaning into this iconic image. Posing irreverent questions, his critical reinterpretation disrupts nationalistic discourses, opening conversation on today’s pluralistic realities. Equally homage to Honest Ed’s as a meaningful site for Toronto and its diverse inhabitants, 2Fik’s new work honours both present and historic loss, mourning across time and cultural dimensions.

The final photograph will be presented in 2Fik’s solo exhibition His and Other Stories at the Koffler Gallery from April 6 to June 4 as part of Scotiabank CONTACT Festival.

The Death of Dishonest Abdel is presented by the Koffler Gallery together with Toronto for Everyone, as part of An Honest Farewell.

About 2Fik

Equally artistic director, photographer and model, 2Fik stages elaborate tableaux in which he single-handedly plays a cast of characters, both male and female. His photo and performance based works toy with reality, destabilizing the viewer’s assumed points of reference. Born in Paris to a Moroccan Muslim family, 2Fik moved to Montreal in 2003. Set against this multicultural backdrop, his recurring, fully developed characters stem from the artist’s personality and life experiences. Playfully humorous, the scenes 2Fik orchestrates examine identity and its socio-political ramifications. Dismantling stereotypes, they compel viewers to question their own sense of self and acquired notions of gender, sexuality, belief, universality and difference. 2Fik first explored these topics by mining the daily life of his characters in the series 2Fik Or Not 2Fik, presented in Montréal, Toronto, Regina and New York. In 2Fik’s Museum, which premiered at The Invisible Dog in New York, he undermined the sacralisation of fine arts by positioning his characters into famous historical paintings reinterpreted through a contemporary viewpoint. In 2013, with a residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb, Croatia, 2Fik began restaging and photographing emblematic paintings that reflect on national identity.

About Toronto for Everyone

The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) was founded in 2004 in Toronto and is one of the first co-working spaces in the world. We are a non-profit social enterprise that is home to over 1000 social mission organizations working across every sector to foster a world where we put people and planet first. We are absolutely thrilled to have this unique opportunity for city building to honour the legacy of Honest Ed’s and celebrate the future of Toronto by bringing together the best this city has to offer. Toronto for Everyone embodies our work fuelling a new economy that is inclusive, collaborative and solutions driven.

Toronto for Everyone (TO4E) is the city we want to co-create. A place where we all belong, where we can see ourselves–our cultures, our ideals, our history–in the very fabric of our city. We believe that Toronto can be the global model for inclusivity, community and social innovation. Honest Ed’s may be closing its doors, but Ed’s legacy is his unique ability to foster community can carry on. For years, Ed opened his doors to immigrant families, hosted street parties and gave away free turkeys. Now it’s time for us to carry the torch through all of our city and community building initiatives, starting with TO4E this February 23-26, 2017.

#torontoforeveryone #TO4E

Image credit: 2Fik, Teaser for The Death of Dishonest Abdel, 2017. Courtesy of the artist.