The waters reglitterized
Susan Hobbs Gallery, Toronto, Canada.
September 10 - October 17, 2026
Eunice Luk re-contextualizes research into series’ of interconnected embodied, or, dreamlike, encounters. Record breaking temperatures, the poles melting, the sea rising, global food supply vulnerabilities, drought, landscapes set ablaze - are undeniable. Yet, we are somehow able to remain stoic when faced with these vast, complex, and often incomprehensible outcomes. It is easier to remain apathetic to something one does not encounter intimately.
Luk proposes it is exactly this, intimacy, (intimacy: a profound closeness, a sense of understanding, a shared space) as a tool for understanding. Through poetic interpretation, sensory experience, and a deliberate resistance to straightforward legibility, she creates spaces where situated knowledge can be felt. We are invited to sense what facts alone cannot convey.
It is this intimacy that the work speaks to: a shared space shaped by care, attention, and proximity. Living alongside one another, sharing the rhythms of daily existence, it is this closeness that drives empathetic understanding. Here, these nearly invisible companions of the river are scaled up and brought into view. As they drift past, we are invited to sense not only their presence, but their significance - to feel, however briefly, what they mean to the life of the river.
Dream fish dreaming
23'00 · Two-channel sound and video installation.
Sound: Masahiro Takahashi
Technical Support: Nathan Saliwonchyk
Scientific Support: Sheri Hincks, Viktor De Mey, Aron Fazekas, Chris Earley
Dimensions variable
Installation view, The waters reglitterized. Susan Hobbs Gallery. Toronto, Canada.
Photos by LF Documentation and Eunice Luk.
B.I.R.D.S. (Behavioural Intelligence: Reimagining Drama Simulators)
April 2025
B.I.R.D.S. foregrounds speculation on and interpretation of non-human intelligence and agency in the cultural space. Luk conducted repeated field studies at the sites of osprey nests, often by busy roadways and the bodies of water where they hunt for shallow river fish. In January 2025, the artist formed a loose association titled B.I.R.D.S. (Behavioural Intelligence: Reimagining Drama Simulators) to gather participants to perform and embody non-human behaviours. Shifting away from conventional human-centred ways of knowing towards a hybrid and responsive engagement with the world. B.I.R.D.S. participants met weekly to embody the apex predator and gathered organic and inorganic nesting material. Additional participants were invited to build part of the nest during an open studio event.
The nest is hybrid. It was formed through the mode of becoming, adopting the architectural instincts of the ospreys. The nest emerged from a range of processes and the result is imbued with B.I.R.D.S. participants’ intelligence and agency. B.I.R.D.S. aimed to produce conditions that de-centers the viewer’s subjectivity through becoming, enacting different ways of sensing and shifting of perception. Hovering just above eye-level, the nest does not completely reveal its content, encouraging curiosity from its viewers. To see the inside of the nest, most viewers must stand on the tip of their toes. This shifting of perspective calls to mind the positions we have long assumed and privileged.
Installation view, B.I.R.D.S. (Behavioural Intelligence: Reimagining Drama Simulators). April 2025.
Ecotone
Binaural field recordings, live video feeds mixed with video recordings
An ecotone is a transition zone between two overlapping systems that produce rich, diverse and unpredictable interactions and relationships. Installed inside a painting studio, the work unsettles a space historically associated with human-centred vision, representation, and critique. It proposes a pedagogy shaped by attunement and shared vulnerability. Immersive binaural field recordings from the calm waters of Speed River and the continuous traffic from Hwy 7 played from speakers in two adjoining rooms, complicating the environment of the painting studio. Each component in the system has its individuality and can generate something greater than the sum of its parts. The work in the installation is a hybrid object that interrogates the viewers’ subjectivity. By implicating the viewers in the image of the live feeds, individuals' reactions and experiences further become the subject of the work.
Becoming Hybrids
Eunice Luk with B.I.R.D.S.
Foraged organic and inorganic debris, ceramics, treated lumber, and steel
B.I.R.D.S
98 pp. Xeroxed on paper with bolted steel binding
Installation view, B.I.R.D.S. (Behavioural Intelligence: Reimagining Drama Simulators). April 2025.
Photos by Clea Christakos-Gee and Eunice Luk. Technical support from Nathan Saliwonchyk.
Installation view, Small things (2024).
Photos by Clea Christakos-Gee and Eunice Luk.
Sympoiesis
YYZ Artists' Outlet, Toronto, Canada.
September 21 - November 30, 2024
Students of symbiosis learn about being
together in a variety of ways: mutualism, commensalism, parasitism. We might take
inspiration from the symbiotic relationships
between individual organisms like bees and
flowers, barnacles and baleen whales, or even
ticks and deer - respectively.
While symbiosis often comes loaded with the
positive affect of living well together, the truth is
that cohabitation and symbiosis are not always
cute. Take this stark example of parasitism: the
genus of fungus, cordyceps, that plants itself on
the exoskeleton of unwitting insects, envelopes
its host in its rhizomatic tendrils until penetrating the protective exterior and digesting the
arthropod's precious nutrients.
We may choose to read such severe cases of
symbiosis, and thus sympoiesis, beyond the
binary of antagonism and hospitality. We can
read these relationships as the assembling of
multi-species lifeways, of hybrid creatures
making-do since life first emerged on this
planet and until its uncertain end. Time may
seem up for the host insect, but life goes on in
the form of the cordyceps. The cycle continues: bug becomes fungus and the fungus
becomes bug - just as our lunch becomes us
and we become our lunch.
With thanks to Ana Barajas, Agatha Tung, Alicia Nauta, Allan Kosmajac, the community at West Michigan Clay, Darian Razdar, the Flowers,
the Insects, Jaime McCuaig, Kaley McKean, Masahiro Takahashi, Nolan Pelletier, Parker Kay, Patricia Kammerer, the Seeds, the Trees and Vava.
Eunice Luk and Jennifer Laflamme
Ikimono いきもの
Junbicyu, Tokyo, Japan.
November 7 - November 9, 2023
Gust of breath
tunnel-lungs expand
evaporated evenings
becoming beings
Hills crest and diamonds twist
beyond beams
baritone branches sing
in harmony-hope
Hums rustle
pouring honey Fall
into bristled gridlock
A forest fruiting
a patient pattern
treads over
perspiring tree trunks
Through thick walls
translucent wings
echo an opera
of wind-songs
吐かれた息
トンネルのような肺が膨らむ
蒸発した夕方が
存在となる
丘は満ちダイヤはねじれ
梁の先
枝たちの深い歌声
奏でる和音－希望
ハミングざわめく
注ぐ蜜落ちる秋
硬い渋滞へと
実る森
気長な模様が
上を這う
汗ばむ幹
厚い壁を貫き
透ける羽が
呼応する
風の歌のオペラ
Eunice Luk and Jennifer Laflamme (Mifi Mifi) are
Toronto-based multidisciplinary artists and friends.
Ikimono, their exhibition approaches Junbicyu’s gallery
space as a collaboratively-built and cared-for environment.
Inspired by a mutual admiration for the Earth’s vital
organisms, the artists present an ecosystem for their
audience to discover. With an arrangement of
naturally-dyed and painted textiles and mixed-media
sculptures, Ikimono offers a contemplative space for visitors
to consider the coexistence between species in a shared
habitat and consider their role as participants in their own
environment.
Luk and Laflamme’s practices are steeped in reverie and
governed by humility and material sensitivity. Their work
involves multiple stages of development. The artists do not
simply use natural materials, they work with them.
Incorporating clay, silk, and plant matter, the gallery’s
landscape is crafted from a breadth of deliberate material
engagements. In this sense, the collaboration is not only
one between artists, but also between themselves and their
materials.
Laflamme’s practice features contemporary approaches to
textile informed by traditional Japanese materials and uses.
The paintings on silk feature Nihonga pigments and ink,
creating lush compositions and rich textures. Her
integrated methodology produces a vibrant, almost
metaphysical quality as her paintings often appear to
extend beyond the third dimension. Simultaneously, her
sensuous and earthy colors are instinctively soothing;
expanding and contracting our perceptive faculties. The
intricate layers of detail behind her work are reminiscent
of the various textures of sedimentation in soil naturally
occurring beneath our feet.
In her work, Eunice Luk considers diverse cultures and
landscapes through a personal and emotional exploration of
form. Ikimono features a series of new sculptures combining
wood and soda-fired ceramics with organic matter. The
result is a body of work resembling insects that invites us to
contemplate the animacy and agency of the objects in our
surroundings. Dispersed throughout the gallery, these small
beings are imagined as seed guardians and pollinators;
active participants in the collection and distribution that
perpetuate seasonal cycles. Adorned with dried blossoms
and stems, these helpful intermediaries carry a piece of
nature’s beauty with them as they perform their noble
purpose.
At home, Luk and Laflamme work together on a network of
gardens around Toronto. This personal detail offers some
insight into their collective appreciation for—and
accountability to—the Earth. Just like the hypothetical
insects in the gallery, they each make a gentle yet tangible
effort to cultivate their environment.
Exhibition text by Danica Pinteric
Installation view, Ikimono (2023). Junbicyu. Tokyo, Japan.
Eunice Luk
Seed to (small) flower
With stamped mural by Alicia Nauta and soft sculptures by Jennifer Laflamme
Polyester Studios. Toronto, Canada.
May 7 - May 29, 2022
Humble long legs
Stretch to see the day
Nice to meet you
Unnamed life
Is born from a seed
I look carefully
Examine each leaf
Trace its shape and
Every colourful detail
It makes an irreversible leap
A small achievement
I grow with confidence
A crumpled leaf, a bruised branch
Did not hinder its spirit
Then came
Violent winds, crushing rain
Cabbage moth and dusty mildew
Despite my worries,
It caused no delay
I feel resilient
As your arms spring back
Reach for the sun
A tender strength
Bloom its first flower
A small vivid treat
For the bumblebees
and I
Installation view, Seed to 'small' flower (2022). Polyester. Toronto, Canada. Photos by Jimmy Limit.
Eunice Luk and Shokki
Unfound, Museum of Pseudoarchaeology
Mumei. Tokyo, Japan.
July 27 - August 5, 2018
Unfound displays a survey of 60 questionable objects and ceramic materials for the first time from a fictional excavation by the Suna River in the Mount Sanyo area. The investigation, accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue and exhibition audio guide presents the research and hypothesis of Dr. Kitsutsuki Shiro. The objects are examined and given detailed descriptions of their aesthetics: from the choice of clay, forms and surface treatments as well as their assumed functions and production methods. The study of the artifacts offers insight to the lifestyle and customs of a puzzling time and imagined culture. The fictional excavation provides viewers the distance to review their personal relationships with present day objects and materials. The contemplation of a certain monument or artwork, furniture, a ‘healing’ crystal or a favourite tool in their homes and workplaces are brought to mind for their aesthetics and functions. The reflection of manufactured, fabricated or handmade objects challenge viewers to reconsider their connection to and the immaterial value of the
physical object.
Installation view, Unfound, Museum of Pseudoarchaeology (2018). Mumei. Tokyo, Japan. Installation view photos by Fuyumi Murata and individual work photos by Shokki.
完璧な卵などない
No egg is perfect Prince Takamado Gallery, Embassy of Canada, Tokyo.
November 29 - January 20, 2017
Sara Cwynar, Eunice Luk, Virginia Lee Montgomery, Erica Prince
things you can't unthink Walter Phillips Gallery, Banff.
January 23 - May 22, 2016
Curated by Peta Rake
things you can’t unthink reflects the inconsistencies and contradictions of philosophical fields – new materialism and object-oriented ontology – which are still in flux. Works included speak to innovation, craft, history and science, as well the use of artistic materials – clay, paint, found objects and precious metals – and the ways in which they are employed in the making of artworks.
Installation view, things you can’t unthink (2016). Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre. Photos by Rita Taylor
Alicia Nauta and Eunice Luk
Your only private part is your brain.
Koganecho Review. Yokohama, Japan.
February 28 - March 21, 2016
Exhibition title by Maddie Harker
Installation view, Your only private part is your brain (2016). Koganecho Review. Yokohama, Japan. Photos by Yasuyuki Kasagi.
