ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

Clockwise from top left • Sacred Amulet 9" x 22" porcelain, leather, stainless steel • Speaking Stones 4", 2" and 1½" porcelain Astrological (Almanac) 14" and 7" x 5" porcelain, leather • Hush 13½" x 3" porcelain, leather • Flint 37" x 2½" and Dusk 50" x 3" turned wood, twine, porcelain

Christine Nnawuchi

At first glance multimedia artist and ceramicist Christine Nnawuchi’s pieces read as museum-worthy artifacts. A ceremonial spear. Sun and moon dials. A decorative breastplate. But the unglazed crisp white porcelain is a first clue that these creations are new, not old. And while their shape and function draw on the Bolton artist’s Nigerian heritage, they are relics and mementos from a world that exists only in Christine’s imagination – a fictional village overseen by a matriarch who is both a healer and a warrior. As Christine says, “I want to evoke a nostalgia, a longing for a place you’ve never been but you’re connected to.” Her show Everything She Left Behind is part of the outdoor exhibit Where She Went, We Thrived at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre until April 11. www.christinennawuchi.com