Toward Return is a screening and media art installation programme curated by Jennifer Laiwint and Gladys Lou, which takes its title from the paradox of aspiring toward a state that once was. This program explores forms of rehabilitation—medical, cultural, personal, and ecological—while acknowledging the tensions and contradictions within these processes. What does it mean to recover from a deep wound? Can what is damaged or lost be repaired? How do we navigate hope and grief, distance and familiarity? Is it possible to return to a “normal state”? The works position recovery as a shifting state between restoration, exhaustion, and reactivation. These works show the possibility of experimental media for facilitating recovery in various forms.
Part of Spring 2026
Toward Return, curated by Jennifer Laiwint and Gladys Lou
Toward Return explores the paradox of recovery: our desire to return to a prior state and the reality that healing is rarely linear. Through experimental films and an interactive installation, the program considers what it means to repair, reclaim, and create from what has been damaged, lost, or displaced.
The program asks: What does it mean to recover from a deep wound? Can what is damaged or lost be repaired? How do we navigate hope and grief, distance and familiarity? Is it possible to return to a “normal state” and if so, how do we define normal?
Featuring single-channel videos and a multimedia installation, the works position recovery as a shifting state between restoration, exhaustion, and reactivation. Together, they show the possibility of experimental media in facilitating recovery, whether healing from personal injury, confronting political trauma, or reclaiming lost histories. From the search for safe homes to the retrieval of family archives, the selected works trace the complexities of recuperating what has been stolen, displaced, or denied.
Toward Return invites viewers to reflect on what it means to strive toward wholeness or stability while contending with setbacks and loss. The program recombines past fragments to open new pathways toward a resilient future, where balance can be achieved.
Where: United Unlimited, 227 Merchant Lane (located near the intersection of Bloor St West and Lansdowne)
When: Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 7:00pm
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the artists as well as an interactive installation experience.
Content advisory: Please be advised that some films in the program include strobe effects and flashing lights.
Ticketing: This event is free/PWYC. Please arrive early to ensure a seat.
Accessibility: Please note that this venue is unfortunately not wheelchair accessible. Entry requires climbing one flight of stairs, and there is currently no elevator or step-free access. We recognize this may be a barrier and for any accessibility requests or accommodations, please email: pleasuredomemanager@
Screening program:
Tiffany Jiang, Natural Disasters, 2023, 04:20
Sarah Ballard, Heat Spells, 2023, 9:04
Paige Taul, 10:28:30, 2019, 4:22
Yuula Benivolski, why I never became a driver, 2023, 11:06
Basma al-Sharif, Deep Sleep, 2014, 12:44
Naween Noppakun, Crazy Lotus, 2023, 15:00
Haoran Chang, East Beijing Road, 7:00, multimedia installation/VR work
Approximate total runtime: 1h 20m
