I Am (2008)

Despite Toronto’s much promoted multiculturalism, it is rare for people who are neither anglophone nor francophone to see their language in public space, especially when not associated with a shop or restaurant. I invited native speakers of as many languages spoken in the city as I could find, from Amharic to Zulu, to write “I am” in their language. The phrase is a simple assertion of being and of presence, but for me there is also the echo of the signs carried by US Civil Rights protestors declaring “I Am a Man!”

These short videos were part of Toronto Public Art Commission Metropolis, produced by Jane Zeidler and shown on the Pemex Video Wall at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. I Am was also installed at the UN Habitat pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Toronto Public Art Commission, Metropolis, produced by Jane Zeidler.

Despite Toronto’s much promoted multiculturalism, it is rare for people who are neither anglophone nor francophone to see their language in public space, especially when not associated with a shop or restaurant. I invited native speakers of as many languages spoken in the city as I could find, from Amharic to Zulu, to write “I am” in their language. The phrase is a simple assertion of being and of presence, but for me there is also the echo of the signs carried by US Civil Rights protestors declaring “I Am a Man!”

These short videos were part of Toronto Public Art Commission Metropolis, produced by Jane Zeidler and shown on the Pemex Video Wall at Dundas Square in downtown Toronto. I Am was also installed at the UN Habitat pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

Toronto Public Art Commission, Metropolis, produced by Jane Zeidler.