Soon and Very Soon is a multi-sensory installation that incorporates audio and video interview recordings from current and past members of UNITE HERE Local 75, a union which supports hotel and hospitality workers. This site specific work, set in a Toronto hotel room, pulls together soundbites from multiple hotel workers (room attendants, shop stewards, organizers, housemen) into an oral history grafted onto a representation of the ‘back of house’—an area in the service industry which connotes and supports specific class disparities. The title refers to a song which the UNITE HERE Local 75 choir recorded and that reflects a shared community of people who gather in order to advocate for better labour rights for themselves and for future generations.

The site ceremoniously brings invisible narratives back to their location of inception and celebrates the successes of how far this industry has come in terms of workers rights. It relives the narratives which we would rather forget in a field deemed “unskilled” and sings the songs that lifts us up as a community that cares for one another. It shows us that no matter where we stand, the fictitious boundaries erected between environments do not matter—there is no ‘back of house’.

This project was developed through Mayworks’ Labour Arts Catalyst where Yu was paired with writer Danny Torres. Guided by Yu’s artistic practice and research, Torres wrote Hey Mama 2, a poem inspired by the stories of UNITE HERE Local 75.

This project was developed through the Mayworks Labour Arts Catalyst.

Soon and Very Soon installation happens May 26 – 31st at the Hilton Toronto by appointment. Register here.

Soon and Very Soon video premiere date coming soon.

Danny Torres reads Hey Mama 2 at The Living Voice: An Evening of Labour Arts Poetry and at the Mayworks Closing Celebration.

DAVID YU

David Yu (@scissorkick) is a Toronto based interdisciplinary artist that he subcategorizes under multimedia, installation, and performance. His work stretches from sculptural forms and installation, to audio, video, and live performers. David received a Masters in Fine Art from The Slade School of Fine Art in London, UK and received a Bachelors in Fine Art from the Ontario College of Art and Design. Some highlights from his exhibition record include: a city-wide art installation commissioned and curated by the Duncan and Jordanstone College of Art and Design, funded by the Scottish Arts Council (2010); a Triangle Arts Trust residency and solo exhibition at the Kuona Trust Gallery in Nairobi, Kenya (2010); participation with Flux Night 2012, Atlanta,Georgia, with a multi-channel video installation; MART Gallery Dublin, Ireland (2015); LocustProjects, Miami, Florida (2018); YYZ Artist Outlet, Toronto, Canada (2018); Orleans Gallery, Ottawa, Canada (2018). Currently, David is working on performance-based research which investigates the role of the viewer as “performer” within installation practices, which has been generously funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. david-yu.format.com

DANNY TORRES

Paul-Daniel Torres, is filmmaker, poet and actor, raised by Ecuadorian immigrants in Toronto. His work is based in decolonization, exploring themes of love, family, mental health, politics and intergenerational trauma. He employs an eclectic style reminiscent of his hometown’s multicultural aesthetic, and believes in art’s ability to heal. Always aiming to make people smile.