Our guest today is Jon McCurley, who works in performance, film, sculpture, and comedy. We discuss his art projects “Monsters of the World” and “Taste Test,” which explore the connections between the Cadbury chocolate company and European imperialism, as well as its link to his personal history since his parents met while working for the company. We also talk about the psychological toll of incorporating personal trauma into an art practice and how to find joy and meaning in our creative acts in order to avoid burn out.
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Guest Bio
Jon McCurley (b.1982, Toronto / Tkaronto) works in performance, film, sculpture, and comedy. Jon is of Vietnamese and Irish descent. He was half of the art group Life of a Craphead (2006 – 2020), and was co-founder of the performance and music venue Double Double Land (2008-2017). Life of a Craphead performance projects include King Edward VII Equestrian Statue Floating Down the Don River (2017), where a life-size replica of a well-known colonial statue was dumped into a Toronto river on a weekly basis for a month and Doored (2012 – 2017), a monthly live broadcast performance art show that featured over 150 performers over the span of 5 years. In 2018 Life of a Craphead was nominated for the Sobey Art Award. Jon’s forthcoming solo show, Skull Island, will be at Teck Gallery, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, in Fall 2021. His work is also part of the 2021 Seoul Mediacity Biennale, South Korea.
Show Notes
Jon’s Projects & Collaborations:
Galleries & Art Venues Mentioned:
Credits
- Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.
