The tiny worlds of Curtis Santiago (a.k.a. Talwst, or “tall waist,” for his family’s propensity for long-leggedness) demand close inspection, and not just because of their miniature stature. Investing his fantastical scenarios with fraught political reality — race, class, gender — he charges them with microcosmic force. Hand-held though they may be, they contain the powerful suggestion of the universal. At Angell Gallery, 444 Dupont St., Unit 15, until Nov. 14.
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MURRAY WHYTE/TORONTO STAR
Toronto artist Curtis Santiago, a.k.a. Talwst, at his studio. The artist has an exhibition at Angell Gallery until Nov. 14.
MURRAY WHYTE/TORONTO STAR
Contemporary culture and politics often inform the artist’s miniature narratives, particularly in the realm of race relations. On the right is a piece called The Execution of Michael Brown, about the infamous killing of the 18-year by police in...
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Working with miniatures requires a steady hand with materials, particularly when the figures routinely require major surgery to be bent to the artist’s will. It also requires the ability to see them, which makes a jeweller’s magnifying lamp an...
MURRAY WHYTE/TORONTO STAR
A cabinet chock-full of jewel boxes reveals the artist’s ongoing scavenger project to find as many unique containers as he has ideas to fill them.
MURRAY WHYTE/TORONTO STAR
Always on the hunt for new materials with which to create his miniature landscapes, Talwst has been experimenting with pink popcorn as a fantastical terraform.