Simon Rabyniuk

Dirt Workers (7 Days in 21 Movements)
2008

"For a period of seven days I collected and saved the inconsequential paper markers of my movement and consumption; a collection that I added to, with the shiny bits, that caught my eye, glittering in the gutter. Each days holdings were composed -- loosely grouped by time of day found -- and scanned; then divided into three. A basic photocopy transfer technique was used to embed the 21 images onto off-white, machine made, insubstantial paper."


Simon Rabyniuk makes full confession of the misdeeds of his youth. A few cigarettes, a few mouthfuls of meat, a few annas pilfered in childhood from the maidservant, two visits to a brothel (on each occasion he got away without “doing anything”), one narrowly escaped lapse with his landlady in Plymouth, one outburst of temper, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University (2006) — that is about the whole collection.

As the middle child, of Jim and Cathie Rabyniuk, he has been socialized in the art of diplomacy and peacemaking -- while on average receiving 10 less hours per week of parental attention then his siblings -- diplomacy and peacemaking emerged as tactics for establishing an equitable distribution of love within his family.

He is currently exhibiting a series of diptych paintings in King City, ON, in a space where social skills are work-shopped with children with autism or Aspergers Syndrome. He has also recently lent his volunteer support to the Toronto Free Library, taking place at the Toronto Free Gallery.