Romantic Tensions is Brianna Tosswill’s inaugural solo exhibition, presented by dhARTworld, bringing together seven theatrical print and sculptural assemblages that the Edmonton artist has been nurturing over the last few years.

A printmaker through and through, Tosswill’s linocut based work is intricate, built layer upon layer creating a self-reflexive world of many moving parts. Deeply earnest and highly personal, the works in Romantic Tensions use the visual language of romance novels, theatre sets, and games of chance to reconcile disparate feelings and gut reactions, all the while resisting cynicism and holding onto the highest of ideals. Swoon.

Ever narrative driven, Tosswill has created three archetypes of herself, “like an author listening to their characters, I let them show me different ways to seek love.” And the archetypes are: Brave Front, Head of Feelings and Spymaster, each show up with differing perspectives, emotions and core tensions. These multiple approaches are an attempt to give love every chance to flourish, without compromising one’s truest self. Three heads are better than one.

Tosswill’s sculptural frames are the amplification of her linocut scenes acting as prologue and sometimes as denouement. Each theatrical stage echoes her narratives and spotlights her emotional messages. With moving parts, elaborate backdrops, and whimsical whirligig mechanisms, Romantic Tensions asks the viewer to ponder, to play, and to walk away spellbound.

Press Release - PDF