Toronto Urban Music Festival 2009

Wednesday, January 20 – Monday, January 25
Urban Music Week Visual Arts
Toronto City Hall Rotunda (7:30 – 9:30 p.m.)

Noted visual artists and photographers will be featured in this special exhibition.

Admission: Free!

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"I grew up seeing beauty everywhere. I understand what it is."

Born in Mandeville, Jamaica, 1970, Carl Cassell was raised in a small mountain community called Rose Hill, a breathtaking side of the Island untapped in its natural serenity. It’s this view of the world to which Carl attributes his artistic sensibilities.

At age six young Carl was first inspired to become an artist under the tutelage of Nanka Dread -- a local Rastafarian artist and friend.

“I became disenchanted with paint as a medium. It had limitations as a conduit of light.”

Originally a charcoal artist and painter, Carl's art spilled into a different direction during the 1990’s after he moved to Canada. Initially, the bustle of academic life at McMaster University prevented the commerce student from honing his craft as an artist. That period of lull changed in 1997 with a chance occurrence in a beauty salon, leading to the creation of Carl's first piece in hair entitled: Woman playing a Chellos.

"It was my eureka moment. I stood there in awe wondering if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing on the floor. I knew I had happened on something intriguing the moment I saw all the black hair on that stark white salon floor. It reminded me of an abstract charcoal sketch."

Carl now specializes in using strands of synthetic hair applied on rice paper to build his three dimensional pictures; he then frames and lights them so that shadows are cast by the hair, adding depth.

Most popular is his Urban Vanguard Portrait Series which highlights various members of Toronto’s emerging creative class. Carl's restaurant, Irie Food Joint - located in the heart of Toronto's Art and Design district - serves also as a gallery to display his unique hair creations, aptly coined: Hairings.

Carl's affinity for building captivating spaces and hosting lively events has enabled him to harness some of Toronto’s great talents. Through his art, Carl has a keen ability to create buzz around contemporary issues. His work inspires dialogue and experiences -- a skill that attracts his immediate community, engaging everyone into a state of shared artistic expression.

Success at Irie has recently allowed Carl to expand his gallery to the second floor of the building. There Carl is steadily preparing for his 2006 Art Series in synthetic hair, a fourth Hairings expose slated for an exclusive showing in late February.

See Carl Cassell at Urban Music Week 2010