Cities in Layers

‘CITIES IN LAYERS’: Urban Landscapes, Architecture and Memory in Silkscreen

Cities are never finished. They are built, altered, demolished, rebuilt and remembered. In ‘Cities in Layers’, Toronto-based printmaker Zoë Craig explores the evolving character of urban environments through original, hand-pulled silkscreen prints.

Working from her own photographs, Zoë interprets architecture, construction, streetscapes, neighbourhoods and waterfronts. Her work draws attention to the visual details that shape our experience of a city: the geometry of buildings, repeating windows, intersecting lines, shifting perspectives and the relationship between built and natural environments.

The exhibition explores three themes: Building, Living and Remembering. From Toronto’s changing architectural landscape and the movement of everyday urban life to historical streetscapes and traces of the past, the works reveal how old and new coexist within the city. Toronto features prominently, alongside images of Montreal, Milan and other cities.

Layering is central to both Zoë’s subject matter and her process. Using transparent inks and drawing techniques, she builds each image through numerous layers of colour and mark-making, creating depth, texture and movement. Sometimes involving dozens of layers, the process transforms recognizable urban imagery into works that sit between printmaking, drawing and painting.

Presented as part of the 2027 DesignTO Festival at HotHouse Restaurant, ‘Cities in Layers’ invites visitors to look more closely at the designed environments around them and discover how cities are continually shaped by architecture, time, memory and everyday experience.