Guelph Arts Council is pleased to present its final Summer 2026 Solo Exhibition in the Sally Wismer Gallery, Curious by Andi Syme, on view from July 4th to August 25th with an opening reception July 14th from 6:00-8:00pm.
Exhibition statement:
The structures we live in pose an ongoing challenge to finding comfort in our bodies. Despite this, comfort regrows out of warm and soft spaces, where we are able to imagine and regenerate.
Within the desaturated planes, figures bond and interact with a sense of freedom, play, or absurdity. Reflecting the nuance of finding joy and euphoria through their historical bodies, the figures continue to dance in their plurality, recognizing the fuel joy gifts in upholding resiliency. Their boundless bodies bloom, reshape, and rework their assumed limits, harvesting with them grit, flexibility, and connection. Inviting you into their curious world, the interwoven figures play in the environment of uncertainty, open to surprise and new constructions of self.
What story are you hoping to tell through this exhibition?
“Curious” speaks to embodied trans and neurodiverse experiences and invites all to embrace curiosity and play. In a world where we are asked to perpetually be solid, repress internal “contradiction,” limit our sharing of warmth, and sweep elements of self under the rug, the stories of stained and dirty carpets can offer insights into maintaining grit, finding joy, and sourcing comfort.
What drew you to make work about comfort, joy, and connection?
The structures we live in pose an ongoing challenge to finding comfort in our bodies. With systems designed to be crushing, I am drawn to centering comfort, joy, and connection, as they offer a more fruitful and imaginative path to creating systems of support, sustainability, and security. Centred around what’s in our control moving forward, joy offers invitations to ‘re’ in ‘re’solution, ‘re’form, and ‘re’generate, as we may do the same in our self-perceptions.
What can you tell us about the figures that appear throughout your work?
The figures displayed in “Curious” invite you into their strange, playful world. Murky and hazy, the soft yet grounded figures interact on the dirty fibre plane, flowing between forms, morphing into and out of one another, beyond gender binaries and even human boundaries.
What does creating these works teach you about yourself and your community?
The collaborative participation of neurodivergent, Autistic, and 2SLGBTQIA+ community members is instrumental and central to my practice, as we explore the various ways we take a fold in our bodies. Investigating Autistic artmaking, trans embodiment, and their interwoven nature within neuroqueer communities, creating “Curious” taught me about my individual and our shared desires and needs. Through play and storytelling, creating these works allowed us to entertain ourselves, adore ourselves, and understand ourselves better.
What do you hope people feel when they spend time with this exhibition?
“Curious” is a visual world I hope queer and trans neurodivergent individuals and beyond can insert themselves into, with enhanced curiosity, visibility, and security. It aims to capture and evoke a sense of comfort, discomfort, or care in the perpetual process of unmasking and transitioning, encouraging the viewer to mingle with the figures and forms without drawing rigid conclusions.
The reception of Curious on July 14th from 6:00-8:00pm will host a variety of free gender affirming gear and resources provided by Come As You Are with GenderGear.ca . I hope people leave the space feeling supported and connected, with a new curiosity about what they might desire.
Andi Syme (they/ them) is an interdisciplinary visual artist. Syme graduated from the University of Guelph with a BA(Honours) in Studio Art and Sexualities, Genders and Social Change. With focus on figures in community, they expressively explore autobiographical themes of neuro-queer and trans* identity, community, and safe spaces. Syme primarily works through charcoal drawings on soft domestic objects to share joy and understanding.
@andi_syme_art
