“This experimental quilt interrogates the narratives and power structures that shape our perception of urban landscapes, domestic spaces, and artistic conventions.

The work originates from photographs documenting the construction of a 48-story condominium in midtown Toronto, captured from the window of my first residence in Canada. Positioned directly opposite the site, I witnessed a process often dismissed as emblematic of overdevelopment and dehumanization. Yet, I was drawn to the choreography of labor, the rapid stacking of floors, and the architectural grandeur. Embracing a “vernacular glance” (Brian O’Doherty) over the “decisive moment,” I captured fleeting, uncomposed views that revealed details relegated to the periphery—tangled wires, leaning beams, and plastic wraps.

The quilt’s collages reject linear temporal and spatial logic. Connections emerge through colour, line, and texture, creating compositions where the mundane and the monumental coexist, where new does not erase old, and hierarchies dissolve. The resulting visual reality reframes the built environment through an egalitarian lens.

Constructed from upcycled Flaneur bedding, the quilt softens urbanity’s monumental rigidity into a medium of softness and “femininity.” This transformation blurs boundaries between public and private while challenging the politics of visibility: who has the power to see, and what is deemed worthy of being seen? Through its vibrant hues and tactility, the quilt invites viewers to engage critically, reclaiming the visual narratives of their city.

For the DesignTO Festival, the project has been expanded to include an additional curtain, with site-specific photos of Old Toronto taken daily and reassembled into collages. This growing work unveils my way of looking at the neighbourhood, transforming everyday scenes into evolving compositions and inviting audiences to share in this dynamic engagement.”

– Tianjiao Saikhantal Yu

Flaneur House, co-founded by Lu Xiong and Tianjiao Saikhantal Yu in Toronto in 2022, specializes in custom color, dyed-to-order bedding and upcycled goods in sophisticated, rare shades.