BLOOD, WATER & BATHURST STREET (BW&B) is a participatory, textile-based mapping project by Naomi Daryn Boyd that explores the histories, communities, and peoples that have shaped these lands. Encompassed within an 18-meter long wool scroll, stories, experiences, and land-based knowledge are translated and brought into conversation through materials. Experimenting with a wide variety of textile handicraft techniques and processes, primarily in wool and found natural materials, BW&B is a site for ongoing material experiments and dialogue, growing with each new addition from the public.
The Map surveys Bathurst Street and its geographic surroundings, from the current shoreline of Niigani-Gichigami (Lake Ontario) up to Steeles Avenue (the City of Toronto’s northern boundary), at a scale of 1:1000. BW&B offers a highly focused and tactile reading of an often underappreciated swath of this city; it is unequal parts family tree, topographic exploration, material research, and community-sourced historical document. Additional works highlight the use of textiles as a mode of resistance and protest, honouring local manufacturing histories and future modes of collaboration and expression.
Naomi Daryn Boyd is a multidisciplinary designer, maker, facilitator, and fifth generation Torontonian. They have a background in Industrial Design and Social Practice, and are passionate about all things textiles. Naomi has a Master’s of Design with a focus on textiles and craft as a sustainable tool and product of community-based learning. They strive to use almost exclusively upcycled and recycled materials in their creative work, and are actively involved in programs for material exchange, donation, and diversion from landfill. Additional interests include: crosswords, team sports, and mending sweaters.
Curated by:
Naomi Daryn Boyd
