Esmond Lee’s current installation at Malvern Town Centre is part of the 2021 Scotiabank Contact festival. Photo by Esmond Lee
TEXT Doris McCarthy Gallery
PHOTOS Esmond Lee
Esmond Lee?s ongoing project Gods Among Us presents a history of Scarborough?s diverse faith communities through representation of provisional architectural homes for places of worship. Often operating under the vernacular of industrial plazas and ubiquitous strip malls, these buildings provide important spaces for newcomers to socialize and to worship. The Scarborough-based artist and architect?s images of these meeting places are positioned on a curious architectural feature at Malvern Town Centre, highlighting the structure?s cathedral-like qualities.
Esmond Lee, Sri Ayyappa Samajam of Ontario (2019) Whether located in the corner of an old plaza or standing tall at a major intersection, the spaces that Lee has documented are more than just buildings; they are second homes for communities to come together and share their culture. Lee, a second-generation Canadian, remembers going to church with his mother and feeling a sense of unity within this newfound community. To immigrants, these places nurture the sense of belonging in a new land, and can lead to spiritual, social, and economic connections.
Esmond Lee, Masjid Al-Jannah (2019)
Esmond Lee, East Scarborough Pentecostal Worship Centre (2019)
Lee?s research, often taking the form of meandering walks to far-flung plazas and strip malls, reveale...