Dara Vandor
Dara Vandor is a Canadian visual artist based in Toronto, Ontario. Her work spans drawing, installation, and public art interventions. She is known for creating the speculative plaque series Pax Americana (2025), which imagines a future United States invasion and annexation of Canada, and for her 2023 split-flap installation Search Portrait.
Career
Search Portrait
In 2023, Vandor presented Search Portrait at Birch Contemporary in Toronto. The installation used a split-flap display to show her real-time Google search queries. The exhibition ran from 9 September to 14 October 2023.[1][2][3]
Pax Americana
In 2025, Vandor created the public art series Pax Americana, consisting of fabricated aluminium plaques installed throughout Toronto. The plaques resemble official historical markers and depict fictional events set in a speculative future in which the United States invades and annexes Canada.
According to Vandor, the idea emerged after statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Canada could be annexed as the 51st state. She described beginning the project "with a lot of anger" following the comments and developed the series as an alternate-reality narrative using Toronto's streets as its canvas.[4][5][4]
The plaques depict invented historical scenes, including imagined urban warfare, neighbourhood destruction, and political speeches delivered by U.S. leaders in a fictional future. Examples described in news coverage include the "Surrender of the Tecumseth Irregulars", the "Tennis Court War Rooms", and an address by a future President Ivanka Trump.[5]
Vandor created and installed the plaques while on maternity leave, often transporting them in her child's stroller during early-morning walks. She has stated that the works are intentionally temporary, noting that many plaques were removed within days or weeks of installation.[4]
City officials told reporters that such installations may be considered bylaw infractions if placed on public property without permits. The City of Toronto did not confirm whether it removed any plaques, and Toronto police reported receiving no complaints identifying the works as vandalism.[5]
The project has received mixed public responses. Vandor reported receiving supportive messages as well as criticism from individuals who viewed the series as anti-American. She has stated that once the plaques are installed, interpretation is "in the viewer's hands".[5]
Historians interviewed about the project described it as a conceptual reflection on the fragility of national borders and geopolitical stability. Historian Camille Bégin called the work "very clever" for presenting a future written in the style of a past, noting its relevance in the context of election-year political rhetoric.[4]
Selected works
- Search Portrait (2023) – Split-flap installation shown at Birch Contemporary.[6]
- Pax Americana (2025) – Public art series using fabricated aluminium plaques installed across Toronto.[4]
References
- ↑ "Search Portrait – Dara Vandor". Birch Contemporary. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ↑ "Dara Vandor: Search Portrait". Oat Foundry. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ↑ "Dara Vandor – Selected Solo Exhibitions". MutualArt. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Brown, Desmond (27 April 2025). "Toronto artist channels anger over Trump's 51st state rhetoric into speculative public art series". CBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Blosser, Anastasia (1 May 2025). "Tanks in Toronto. A new Trump at the helm. Canada has fallen: Why this local artist put up plaques imagining a U.S. invasion". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ↑ "Dara Vandor: Search Portrait". Oat Foundry. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
External links
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