Kate McQuillen  (Shoe Bomber, above and below) is on exhibit at an OCAD University exhibition at the Open Gallery in Toronto March 31 to April 4. This work (on tissue paper at XPACE Cultural Centre) is representative of McQuillen’s focus on explosives, terrorism and surveillance.

The OCAD show, Survoyeurism: Reconsidering Surveillance, focuses on public response to rising government scrutiny. McQuillen ruminates on mass surveillance, data mining and security, through works such as her pressure monoprint series (Below: Swiss Army).

“Personal items of clothing with cutout paper weapons concealed within their folds are run through a printing press, the results of which bear distinct resemblance to x-ray scans. The prints reveal the duplicitous appearance of harmless objects and present the personally invasive and voyeuristic aspects of security procedures.”  – Exhibition notes

To create Smoke Paintings, McQuillen hung paper from a scaffold and moved lit matches beneath it, allowing smoke to stain the surface.

“The results are striking and deeply moving images that capture the traces of fleeting acts. On one hand Kate’s images are quiet, soft and elegant. On the other, they are a violent, dangerous and rough.” – Cureeo  Below: A glimpse of her printmaking process.

Kate McQuillen is a Chicago-based artist working mainly in print and installation. She has received numerous residencies, in the U.S. and abroad.

Kate McQuillen’s website, here.

Her Facebook, here.

O’Born Contemporary, which represents her, here.