Cara Barer | Wandering | Advance Preview

Cara Barer | Wandering
February 5 - March 2, 2026
Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin
1384 Dufferin Street, Toronto
Opening reception: Saturday, February 7th from 2 - 4 pm | Artist in Attendance

This February, Bau-Xi Gallery | Dufferin is thrilled to present Wandering, a transformative exhibition by acclaimed photographic artist, Cara Barer. Within her unique and dynamic practice, Barer uses printed materials – such as maps and reference texts – to discuss how the meaning and function of these objects change when placed within an entirely digital framework. The resulting documentation of these ‘sculptures’ are intended to explore notions of impermanence and the erosion of knowledge in our current day and age

Artist Statement:

I work with discarded maps and reference books as both material and metaphor. Once designed to orient or instruct, these maps and books have outlived their practical use, replaced by digital navigation and constantly shifting borders. By soaking, folding, compressing, and re-forming them, I transform flat systems of information into sculptural objects.

I am interested in how knowledge erodes when total dependence is placed in a digital world, and how meaning changes when the original function of a physical map or guidebook is removed. 

Photography allows me to fix these temporary forms by preserving a moment of physical tension. My camera becomes a tool of translation, moving the work from object to image.  Through this process, my books and maps become meditations on impermanence, how we seek knowledge or obtain information, and the human desire to locate ourselves within an ever-shifting world. – Cara Barer

All artworks are now available for acquisition. To secure a piece, please contact us at 416-977-0600 or toronto@bau-xi.com.