The Treasury of Human Inheritance, directed by Alexis Kyle Mitchell, is a poetic film about the experience of living with and alongside disease and disability. Tracing loops, echoes and repetitions across the physical and spiritual realms, The Treasury combines documentation of family home movie footage; somatic and religious rituals for death and life after death; abandoned urban architectures teeming with natural growth; celluloid film hand-processed in genetic material; and an analogue synthesizer soundtrack that mimics inheritance patterns of genetic disease. In essence, this is a film about a family–but, more than that, it is a film made from the everyday patterns we embody in order to live through and with one another.
The screening will be followed by an in-person conversation between Mitchell and the film’s producer Mason Leaver-Yap during which the artist will reflect on her approach to the entangled legacies of family and identity, practices of fluid consent, knowledge and the divine, and discuss her own techniques of making a hand-processed film with and about genetic material.
This film will be presented at Paradise Theatre in partnership with The Vega Foundation. The film is a precursor to a newly commissioned audio-visual performance titled The Treasury of Human Inheritance (Circuits) by Mitchell and collaborator Luke Fowler, which will take place on Saturday, June 22nd at MOCA Toronto.
Members at the Enthusiast level and above are eligible to utilize their Free Event benefit for this artist talk.
When you purchase your ticket you will have the option to donate to the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation – an organization supporting those affected by the rare genetic disease the film addresses. 100% of your donation will go directly to supporting essential research and care initiatives for those impacted by this condition.
Donate to the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation
About the Artist
Alexis Kyle Mitchell (b. Toronto) is an artist and scholar based between New York and Glasgow. Encompassing video, film, performance, and experimental collaboration, Mitchell’s practice delves into themes of space, place, and the politics of memory and belonging. Mitchell frequently collaborates with Sharlene Bamboat and the duo recently launched a web project called Before Law. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Disability Studies at New York University and is currently a visiting scholar at the university’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. Her work has circulated internationally, including in exhibitions at the Henry Art Gallery (Seattle), Kunstverein Munich, and Mercer Union (Toronto), and in screenings at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Art of the Real (New York), and IndieLisboa International Film Festival (Lisbon). Mitchell has presented lecture-performances at the University of Toronto and The New School (New York), and held residencies at Cove Park (Scotland), MacDowell (United States), Sommerakademie Paul Klee (Switzerland), and Akademie Schloss Solitude (Germany). She is one of the featured artists in Glasgow International 2024.
Mason Leaver-Yap works with artists to produce exhibitions, events and publications. His recent collaborations include working with Ingrid Pollard, Phil Collins, Jamie Crewe, Ima-Abasi Okon, Monica Maria Moraru, Peng Zuqiang and Razan AlSalah.
GTA24 Live & Screening Programme
Greater Toronto Art 2024 (GTA24) showcases 25 intergenerational artists, duos, and collectives from or with a connection to the region. The exhibition is accompanied by a Live Programme, with newly commissioned performances, and a Screening Programme, featuring exclusive film presentations delivered at Paradise Theatre.
See all upcoming events, here.
