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For the last 50 years, Scott has been creating raw-edge drawings about the dark side of politics, war and human nature. His finger is always on the pulse of current events, compelling him to illustrate the human condition that results. These last few months have motivated Scott to make works that are characteristically insightful, funny and poignant. Hazmat Ballet is evidence of Scott's vivid imagination and clarity in a time of turmoil and confusion. In acknowledging our emotional state, his work is ultimately optimistic and gives a voice to those most vulnerable.
I had an idea that I wanted to work with a choreographer and stage a ballet with people wearing hazmat suits, the protective gear that reflects the moment we are experiencing right now. The dancers' motions are curtailed by the suit as they try to interpret classical ballet poses. The idea was to, in some way, visualize the current situation which is pretty dire.
- John Scott
John Scott was born in Windsor, Ontario in 1950 and currently lives in Toronto. In 2000, Scott was awarded the inaugural Governor General’s Award in Visual Arts and Media. He has exhibited extensively across Canada for the past 40 years and is in the collections of many major institutions in Canada and the United States including the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Grinnell College Museum of Art, Iowa. In 2014, Scott had his first major survey exhibition in the United States at the Grinnell College Museum of Art. The exhibition travelled to the McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton in 2015 and the Art Gallery of Hamilton in 2016.
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