01 - Main Space

Yesterday / Layla Mercer

11.28.2025 - 12.17.2025

My mind drifts toward memories of Yesterday; the many yesterdays I spent back home in Ontario, sitting by small ponds where cattails grow, paddling down long rivers swarming with dragonflies, and swimming under cold lakes that seemed bottomless. Material is a form of memory, and the generous labours of fibre art have become my way of remembering.

I feel grateful for the many gifts given to me in this life! Every day I collect materials, experiences, and memories; these hold stories of connection, nature, and womanhood. Through sewing on beads, dyeing fabrics, blending pulps, or binding sheets of paper, my grateful words are spoken again and again, as repetitive and laborious gestures: thank you, thank you, thank you...

laylamercer.com

02 - LRT
Space

Near or Far / Christina Yao

11.28.2025 - 12.17.2025

Near or Far is an ongoing series of photographic portraits that explore the continuous negotiation of power, trust, and communication within intimate relationships.

Christina Yao is a China-born, Calgary-based artist working primarily in photography, video, and installation. Drawing from her experiences living and working across the U.S., Colombia, and Canada, she explores themes of relationship, identity, and place through a cross-cultural lens. She was selected as a 2025 Critical Mass Top 200 finalist and was a finalist in the 2024 LensCulture Portrait Awards, and was featured in the Emerging Photographers Showcase at the 2024 Exposure Alberta Photo Festival.

@cristinadass; www.christina-yao.com