Site-specfic
Curation
The University of Toronto Library has been recognized as one of the significant Brutalist buildings in North America. Constructed with hexagonal concrete columns, its raw surfaces and soaring ceilings create a monumental sense of space.
Within it, the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library is distinguished not only by its extensive collections but also by the unique architectural character of Brutalism that defines the site.
In the curatorial process, Cheng considered the creation of work alongside the spatial conditions of the display. The installation Past Lives was positioned against the west-facing window, where the setting sun was allowed to cast light directly upon it, resonating with the word “Golden Sun” (黃色的太陽） inscribed within the work.
Past Lives
Jessica Cheng, 2025
Free-motion embroidery, mixed media installation
Exhibiting in an academic library required considerations that extended beyond galleries or museums. The functionality of the library had to be respected, ensuring that students’ daily use of the space was not interrupted. Within these limitations, dialogues between the collections and the artworks were carefully staged.
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Cheng’s installation Read Between the Lines was conceived in direct dialogue with the existing architectural features of the library, integrating the site’s structures into the work’s spatial composition.
Archival materials were printed on drafting paper and suspended along the library’s circular lighting fixtures, while embroidered works were placed directly below. The installations were designed as a response to the holdings of the library, inviting viewers to encounter the works as they moved along the circular path of light above.
Read Between The Lines
Jessica Cheng, 2025
Free-motion embroidery, drafting paper,
mixed media installation