sway / pull

5:15 / Canada / Regular 8mm

Synopsis: Created during the COVID-19 pandemic when queer spaces were disappearing across Toronto, sway / pull is a meditation on the erosion of Hanlan's Point beach in both literal and figurative senses. Hanlan's Point beach, located on the Toronto Islands, was the site of Toronto first gay pride celebrations in 1970s and remains a queer haven today. Additionally, the Toronto Islands have faced poor city planning that has led to a significant amount of erosion on the beach. This film plays with the concept of erosion by the physical pushing of sand to speak back to the literal erosion of the beach caused by late 20th century urban planning failures in Toronto, and the erosion of queer spaces during a global public health and economic crisis.

Focused on the impermanence of movement through the artist's hand and feet motion, waves sucking in on themselves, and the active movement of doing and undoing, this rumination questions how we can blend moments and create non-linear way to view time, making imagined time in a queer space.

sway / pull was created at the Womxn’s Island Residency at Artscape Gibraltar Point, founded by April Hickox in 2020.