‘partition: a line and its memory’ is an exhibition by Dead Projects, a collective comprising the interdisciplinary practice of Dema Talib and Nedda Baba. As a social practice, Dead Projects aims to provide alternative viewing conditions for artwork by emerging, minoritized artists through virtual exhibitions that are available online at deadprojects.ca. Dead Projects prioritizes accessibility and adaptive modes of visual representation to be navigated through our 3D-rendered exhibition spaces. For the first time, Dead Projects’ exhibition space will also be viewable in-person from the Design Fabrication Zone window at 110 Bond Street, part of Toronto Metropolitan University.

Featuring Kasra Goodarznezhad and Mahmoud Alhaj, this exhibition will explore how borders can shape our lived experiences in profound ways. An expression of nation-building and state violence, these boundaries are architected by a few but affect many. Borders can be experienced physically and concretely as walls or invisibly, similar to how we perceive the border between reality and virtual reality. These walls, both seen and unseen, impact nearly every aspect of our lives— from the practicalities of daily existence to our broader sense of identity and connection to the world.

In Mahmoud Alhaj’s work, found and archival images of architectural violence in Palestine are digitally cut and collaged, through which the process of violence itself is reflected and questioned. For Kasra Goodarznezhad, AI-generated maps from individual memories of place are created, rejecting the legacy of power in historical mapping practices. Both artists imbue cartography with subjectivity in an attempt to create alternative narratives outside of the hegemonic rule of borders.