University of Toronto Art Museum unveils Camille Turner’s “Otherworld” Exhibition, Exploring Canada’s ties to the transatlantic slave trade

BY RUSHANE FERRON

The Art Museum at the University of Toronto is hosting “Otherworld,” the first major institutional solo exhibition in Canada by acclaimed artist Camille Turner. Running from September 4^th, 2024, to March 22^nd, 2025, at the University of Toronto Art Centre, the exhibition features a powerful collection of recent works, including new commissions that delve into Canada’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and its enduring repercussions.

“Camille Turner’s work challenges us to rethink our understanding of history and to use our imagination to envision worlds otherwise,” said Barbara Fischer, curator and executive director of the Art Museum. “Otherworld is a call to contemplate, to grieve, and to dream new futures into being.” Fischer highlighted that the extended exhibition period, which now aligns with the academic calendar, will foster deeper engagement through enhanced programming, encouraging multiple visits for ongoing reflection.

Turner’s exhibition draws deeply on her personal journey and the ancestral connections that inform her work. “When I started this journey, I really felt guided by my ancestors,” Turner shared. Reflecting on her experiences at significant historical sites, including the Door of No Return in Senegal, she described a profound connection: “I felt like I was seeing my ancestors around me and felt like I was there by no accident. I was there to tell a story.”

Central to Turner’s exploration is the ocean, symbolizing the painful history of the transatlantic slave trade. She recounted standing at Cape Spear, the easternmost point of North America, and gazing across the ocean towards Gorée Island in West Africa, where the Door of No Return stands. “These two places are communicating with each other,” she said. “I am standing here looking across the ocean. This is a transatlantic story, and I am the vehicle for this story.”

Turner urges emerging artists to look inward and uncover the stories within them. “I didn’t seek out this story, the story sought me,” she emphasized. She shared plans for a significant project in Jamaica, drawing on her father’s memories of growing up on a plantation where descendants of enslaved people were still living, yet without owning the land. “My father remembers walking past thee cow pastures with all their worldly possessions on their heads. This is a story connected to slavery and my family.”

Through “Otherworld,” Turner hopes that visitors will confront the pervasive legacy of slavery, which she describes as “Woven into everything,” and essential to reckon with. “It’s important to not just sweep it under the rug and walk away as if nothing happened,” she stressed.

The exhibition’s title, “Otherworld,” is inspired by Turner’s afronautic research methodology, a blend of: Afrofuturism, critical storytelling, and Black radical imagination. This approach immerses audiences in a non-linear journey that transcends conventional space-time boundaries, addressing historical gaps and silences. Turner’s work aims to make visible the erasure of Black experiences, while providing a space to imagine more equitable futures.

Highlights of the exhibition include two newly commissioned films, “Maria” and “Fly,” named after 18^th-century ships built in Newfoundland and used in the slave trade, symbolizing the haunting connections between Canada’s maritime history and the transatlantic slave trade. Additional installations, “Portals” and “Pods for Dreaming,” explore the lingering effects of colonial violence and offer spaces for reflection and respite.

Public programming will also feature the Afronautic Research Lab, an ongoing counter archive that invites visitors to participate in research on Black history. Turner’s multidisciplinary practice spans: performance, photography, and installation, digital, and sonic media, often in collaboration with other artists.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and now living between Los Angeles and Costa Rica, Turner is renowned for her transformative exploration of Black history in the Canadian context. “Otherworld” continues the Art Museum’s legacy of showcasing artists who challenge dominant narratives. Past exhibitions have included Deanna Bowen’s “God of Gods: A Canadian Play,” Kent Monkman’s “Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience,” and Alanis Obomsawin’s “The Children Have to Hear Another Story.”

“Otherworld” offers a profound exploration of Canada’s complex and often overlooked historical narratives, inviting visitors to engage with the past and envision alternative futures.