Art

DOWN THE DRAIN

ON VIEW: April 22 – 26, 2019 Canadians are amongst the highest ranking users of freshwater in the world, with the average Canadian using around 335 litres of water per day – the equivalent to 1½ full bathtubs. This demand,

April 22 - 26, 2019
Commissioned by Brookfield Properties

WASTE TRANSPARENCY

ON VIEW: April 22 – 26, 2019 Labspace Studio was brought on board to execute our client’s concept to provide a “transparent glimpse” into waste generation and diversion at Bay Adelaide Centre using a giant cup. The large-scale installation(s) confronts the

April 22 - 26, 2019
Commissioned by Brookfield Properties

HIVE

ON VIEW: April 16 – 20, 2018 HIVE is a series of site-specific installations in Toronto’s financial district inspired by the beauty, complexity and vitality of the honey bee — the world’s most important pollinator of food crops. It is estimated that

April 16 - 20, 2018
Commissioned by QuadReal in partnership with CD Sonter

Doors in the Deep

Labspace Studio transforms an old costume space into an interactive Alice-in-Wonderland-esq woodland environment with big trees and little doors and art from the AGO’s permanent collection. Commissioned for the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Hands-On Learning Centre. The project will be

March 20, 2018 - Ongoing
Art Gallery of Ontario

PLASTIC GARDEN

PLASTIC GARDEN is an immersive art installation made of over 1,000 salvaged plastic bottles – repurposed into a living, breathing vertical garden. Commissioned by QuadReal and CD Sonter for Waste Reduction. Southcore Financial, Toronto: Oct 17-18, 2017 Commerce Court, Toronto:

Oct 17 - 20, 2017
Commissioned by QuadReal & CD Sonter

DEEP BLUE

We are honoured to be part of the Great Art for Great Lakes initiative, a multi-city art project that is bringing together 8 great lake cities to co-create 8 permanent artworks that promote water literacy and protection. As the selected

Permanent Artwork
Commissioned by Waterlution for the Ontario Science Centre

CUTLERY CANOPY

Cutlery Canopy is a large-scale public art installation constructed from recycled wooden pallets and over 20,000 pieces of disposable cutlery salvaged from the building’s food courts. That’s equivalent to roughly 42 days of plastic food court waste diverted from the landfill.

April 17 - 28, 2017
Commissioned by Brookfield Property Partners for Earth Week

Between Doors, Brussels Edition

Participative installation Between Doors raises the issue of choice. Are we truly the masters of our own decisions or is the freedom of choice nothing more than an illusion? The audience is invited to take part to a social and artistic

Oct 1, 2016
Commission for Nuit Blanche Brussels

Passage (Ontario Place)

“John Loerchner and Laura Mendes of Labspace Studio continue their practice of sustainable art-making by repurposing old canoes through a unique installation on the silos that were first built to house an ‘Ontario North’ exhibit.” in/future A Festival of Art

Sep 15 - 25, 2016
Commission for in/future

New Public Art Commission in Nanaimo, BC

Thanks to the City of Nanaimo, British Columbia, for inviting us to create a brand new version of our Passage installation for their Public Art Program. Passage, along with eight other installations, will be on display in May 2016 as part

May 2016
City of Nanaimo, BC, Public Art Commission

Between Doors, Boston Edition

Part installation, part sociological survey, Between Doors invites audiences into an evolving narrative on the nature of choice. What is choice? Are we the sum of our choices? Are we in control of the choices we make, or is choice

Oct 3 - 4, 2015
Commission for Illuminus, Boston

Empty(ing) Nest – Quebec Edition

Empty(ing) Nest is a towering installation (doubling as a yard sale) constructed from the personal objects of a suburban family in Laval, Quebec. This extensive collection, transplanted from the house of the Grebmeier-Forget family and installed in the gallery, offers

Aug 1 - 21, 2015
Commission for Maison des Arts de Laval

Passage (Don Mills Road Bridge)

Set against the backdrop of Toronto’s infamous Don River, cross sections of a canoe are scattered, divided and sunken into a concrete landscape. This large-scale installation pays tribute to the river’s long and tumultuous history, suggesting a civic call to

Permanent Artwork
Commission for Pan Am Path, Toronto, Curated by East End Arts

Empty(ing) Nest

Empty(ing) Nest is a towering installation (doubling as a yard sale) constructed from the personal objects and belongings of one suburban family. Accumulated over the span of 25 years, transplanted from the artist’s childhood home, and installed in the gallery,

Sep 26 - Dec 28, 2014
Commission for Harbourfront Centre

Between Doors

The Things We Lose

The Things We Lose is a public art project that gives willing strangers the opportunity to reconnect with a long lost item or person of significance via Toronto’s subway system — a platform with access to over one million daily

Oct 1 - 31, 2014
Commission for Art In Transit, Toronto

Passage

Passage is a collection of projects that respond to the challenges we face connecting to our lakefront in an increasingly urbanized landscape. Embracing the canoe as a cultural and historic icon for exploration, these projects suggest a call to action

June 21 - Sep 21, 2014
Commission for Harbourfront Centre, Toronto

Don Was Here

Don Was Here is a public art installation that aims to ignite civic interest in the history, legacy and renewal of Toronto’s Don River and surrounding valley. From June 22nd to September 21st, pedestrians and bikers along the Lower Don

June 21 - September 10, 2014
Commission for Contemporary No.9 Art & the Environment, Toronto

Arthur

Meet Arthur, a solitary but loveable creature living in a window vitrine on the Danforth. Unlike humans or animals, Arthur feeds solely off the affections of others. Without these affections, Arthur will shrink, weaken and wither away. Give him some

May 2 - 11, 2014
Commission for Art of the Danforth Festival

A Hydro Picnic Under the Stars

By transforming the ubiquitous hydroelectric tower into a site of social activity, this immersive installation aims to playfully re-contextualize our relationship to the mundane, functional infrastructures around us, while simultaneously acknowledging our innate human need to connect, consume and modify

March 1 - 16, 2014
Commission for Art Souterrain & Nuit Blanche, Montreal

I’m Only Human

We all make mistakes. But what does it mean to say “I’m Sorry”? This large-scale installation examines the loaded language of regret using 100 golden letter-shaped balloons and quotes collected from Rob Ford press conferences. Entrance Installation By Labspace Studio

February 20 - 23, 2014
Commission for The Artist Project, Contemporary Art Fair

Overheard

Using a pair of modified headphones (equipped w/ spy mics) the artists are able to covertly record moments of exchange, exposing the underlying psychology of verbal communication. Overheard explores the act of passive and active eavesdropping in public spaces, calling

July 26 - 27, 2013
Commission for the Noise Project

Advice for the Living

Advice for the Living is a social experiment, public intervention and video art project created by John Loerchner & Laura Mendes, Co-Directors of Labspace Studio. The project explores the elusive and interrelated themes of wisdom, knowledge, and the ongoing search

Jul 15 - 28, 2013
Commission for Art in Transit

365 Things in 365 Days

Labspace Studio Co-Directors, John Loerchner & Laura Mendes, embark on a personal art project/challenge to do 365 new things in 365 days (like bake a pie from scratch, bungee jump, build a robot, fly a box-kite, churn butter, learn to

Jan 13 '12 – Jan 14 '13
A Challenge To Do 365 Things In 365 Days

Tree Swing in Leslie Spit

Site specific installation, Leslie Spit, Toronto By Laura Mendes & John Loerchner Part of 365 Things in 365 Days project

April 6, 2012
Make a tree swing: To-Do #80

Confessions Underground

Part social experiment, part public intervention, Confessions Underground is a video based art project that gives willing participants the rare opportunity to record a private on-camera confession and broadcast it publicly over 300 of Toronto’s digital subway platform screens. For

July 2 – July 15, 2012
Commission for Pattison OneStop & Art 4 Commuters

Memories Are Like Water

Video/Sound/Light/Movement Installation By Laura Mendes & John Loerchner Show: In Memory August 19-21, 2011 717 Queen St (defunct funeral parlour)

August 19 - 21, 2011
Memories Are Like Water

Still City Sleep

Performance and Live Projection Concept by Laura Mendes & John Loerchner Visuals by John Loerchner Choreography by Laura Mendes Music by Hauschka & Aphex Twin Show: As part of the Hot Soup Series June 10, 2009 Labspace Studio, Toronto

Sep 10-12, 2009
Presented by Hot Soup Series

A Hydro Picnic Under The Stars Somewhere In Suburbia

Climbing Walls

Performance and Live Projection Concept by Laura Mendes & John Loerchner Visuals by John Loerchner Choreography by Laura Mendes Music by Hauschka & Aphex Twin

June 10, 2009
Presented by Hot Soup Series

On a Sunnyside Mourning

A site-specific performance installation created for the Queen West Art Crawl, set against the backdrop of Lake Ontario and the Gardiner Expressway. This durational performance lasted 3 hours and was performed as a mourning and tribute to Parkdale’s eroded history.

Sep 2008
Part of Queen West Arts Crawl