The AGM warmly invites you to the exhibition’s opening reception on Saturday August 15, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Registration is recommended but not required. The artist A.S.M. Kobayashi and exhibition curator Shannon Anderson will be in attendance. Electric Neon Clock is a hybrid, immersive work by A.S.M. Kobayashi that mixes documentary, performance, and installation. Born and raised in Mississauga and based in Toronto and New York City, Kobayashi is known for her performative projects that take deep dives into found archival material. For this exhibition, the artist turns to her own family archives, which are part of Canada’s history of forcibly incarcerating and dispossessing thousands of Canadians of Japanese heritage. This project began when Kobayashi first encountered the Canadian government’s WWII custodial file on her great-grandfather and subsequently discovered case files belonging to other relatives, their friends, and a wider community of displaced people of Japanese descent. These historical documents detail inventories of their homes and businesses, and include government correspondence, internal memos, and court transcripts. All adults named in the original documents have passed away, leaving their children, now seniors, as bearers of the only first-person accounts of this period. These living relatives were infants and young children at the time, making the custodial file the most enduring testimony of the artist’s family during those years. Electric Neon Clock asks: How can the artist liberate forensic practices and state records to undermine their original intention and use them to reconstruct the community and families they were designed to dismantle? Relying on the custodial file as a guide, Kobayashi adapts this record into an installation and live performance detailing her family’s experience. Using video, sound, archival documents, a substantial photo archive, and the innovative format of a live auction, Kobayashi welcomes audiences to delve into her family’s file and join her in assessing the inventory’s value and humanizing its contents.  Saturday August 14, 2026 | 11 am to 1 pm Mississauga Celebration Square Fountain In partnership with Japan Festival Canada and inspired by the history of Japanese Canadian fishing communities and the AGM’s current exhibition, Electric Neon Clock by A.S.M. Kobayashi, this free, hands-on workshop invites people of all ages, especially families with young children, to fold and decorate origami boats made from durable, water-resistant synthetic paper. The drop-in experience concludes with participants floating their boats together in the Celebration Square fountain, creating a playful, shared moment in public space. No registration required. Drop by anytime between 11 am and 1 pm.  |
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The Art Gallery of Mississauga wishes to thank the following funders for their generous support:
