The image is made up of a photo emulsion lift from a family image taken by my mother in my grandparents’ home in the late 1980s. The photograph captures a moment in my grandmother’s living room, where my family gathers around a coffee table laden with food and drinks. Fragmented across six copper plates, the image has been manipulated with a heat patina (done by my friend Dee Dee Decay), creating a colorful yet aged effect that conveys the passage of time and the imperfect nature of memory. Titled “The Hour of Friendship,” after a phrase my grandfather often used when hosting family gatherings, this piece reflects a connection to a past I never personally experienced but feel connected to through anecdotes preserved by my mother. After immigrating, this phrase could have become a poignant reminder of the lost communal moments and a yearning for a sense of belonging in a new place, despite this – we used the phrase to remind ourselves that we still had each other to share moments with. The work embodies my attempt to reclaim a piece of familial history, blurring the line between inherited memories and personal experiences.

Ernesto Cabral de Luna

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Ernesto Cabral de Luna is a Mexican lens-based artist working in Toronto. Utilizing both analog and digital processes, he merges experimental techniques with sculpture and installation, printing onto unconventional and manipulated surfaces to emphasize the multi-dimensionality and materiality of the image. His work centers around altering perception through image manipulation – providing new ways to experience recognizable imagery in unconventional manners and outside of their intended purpose. Ernesto's practice is interested in the fragmentary nature of memory, both individual and collective - and constantly seeks new ways to manipulate these alternative histories he is creating. Ernesto received his BFA in photography from OCAD University in 2024, where he received the 2024 Barbara Astman Photography Award and the 2021 Wendy Coburn Art and Social Change Scholarship. A recipient of the 2024 Gallery44 Residency Award and the 2024 Partners in Art's Artist-Direct Grant, Ernesto has exhibited at Patel Brown, Ignite Gallery, Ada Slaight, Xpace Cultural Center, and Abbozzo Gallery. Ernesto was selected for the Toronto Raptors’ 2022 Welcome Toronto Creators Program. He has worked closely with notable companies such as The Toronto Raptors, Coors Light and Walmart Canada. In summer 2024, he was commissioned for a public mural by Luminato Festival at Finch Station, as well as a public billboard outside Artscape Youngplace for Critical Distance Centre for Curators. His work is a part of Casey House Foundation's 2024 Art with Heart auction. Ernesto’s thesis project has been supported through funding by OCAD’s RBC Centre for Emerging Artists, The Ontario Arts Council and Partners in Art Canada.