This past summer, we launched the Artist in Urban Orchard program, asking members of our volunteer community to create works that show how Toronto fruit inspires them artistically. Two local artists were involved in the program, and we are excited to showcase their work this winter.

Our first featured artist is Zeesy Powers. Here is a quick bio:

Zeesy Powers is an interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto, Canada who likes to play with expectations. She has worked on an organic goat farm, where she cared for and slaughtered 100 chickens, and has foraged for urban and wild foods on 3 continents. Her performance and video work has been exhibited in festivals and galleries around the world, with her project “I Will Tell you Exactly What I Think of You” making people cry, and then ask for a hug, and then want to hear more. She is a past resident of CCA Kitakyushu (Japan), The Banff Centre (Alberta) and Palomar5 (Berlin). Zeesy is currently working on treating video and film as painting, and expanding her fake Reality-TV-empire.

Zeesy attended two picks late in the season and has created some striking pieces. The first, entitled “Apples” (above) is a spare and intimate image of the connection of volunteer to fruit. The muted colours and organic lines highlight the quiet power of the quintessential moment that is documented.

We will be sharing more of Zeesy’s work through the blog over the coming months plus the work of our second featured artist.