Commuters in downtown Toronto may have noticed Union Station is looking more vibrant these days, and that’s because a butterfly art exhibition has taken over the transportation hub in celebration of Black History Month.
Jordan Sook, a contemporary mixed media artist behind the project “Nothing More Nothing Less,” is using the station as a canvas to explore themes of transformation and self-reflection through the symbolism of butterflies.
The exhibition is part of Union Station’s “A Transit Through Time” series, which showcases a collection of artworks that explores historical significance — with a focus on Black artists and their cultural heritage.
With his work being featured on the station’s exterior banners along Front Street, Sook is the first-ever artist to transform the banners outside of Union into art — a “butterfly masterpiece,” according to a project spokesperson.
His hand-painted installations — which signify a new generation of Black art — can also be viewed at various locations throughout Union, such as the Oak Room, a hoarding wall in the new lower area of the station, and on digital screens.
While Black History Month is recognized throughout February, Sook’s work will be on display at Union Station well past the month’s 28-day calendar — locals and tourists can catch a glimpse of the exhibit until Aug. 31.
“It’s super cool,” he told TorontoToday. “It’s very liberating and rewarding to be able to create and give back to the community in a different way. There’s always opportunities for us to be better as a society, and hopefully this can set the table for those kinds of conversations.”
An unconventional path to success
Few artists in Toronto can say that thousands of people will observe their work in one of the busiest parts of the city for six months straight — an impressive feat for someone who never attended art school.
Sook, 32, developed a passion for the subject early on and taught himself the craft as a young boy. He recalls spending hundreds of hours watching YouTube videos, documentaries and studying art history.
Rather than attending art school, Sook went the marketing and advertising route where his formal education and artistic ability eventually collided in the best of ways.
“As I grew more as an artist, my work had a lot to do with the idea of society from the standpoints of how we interact with signage and billboards,” he explained.
“Seeing that translated to Union Station and going on the idea of prime real estate, I thought it was serendipitous.”
Since launching his artistic career in 2015, Sook has exhibited in numerous galleries and esteemed art festivals, such as The MacLaren Art Centre, The Manifesto Art Festival and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
Sook works with various mediums spanning acrylic paintings, sculptures and installations featuring recontextualized themes in pop-culture.
Inspiration from a butterfly
He came up with the first iteration of the butterfly now seen at Union Station during the darker days of the pandemic at his old studio.
“In 2021, there was this butterfly that was stuck to a wall for the longest time, and I’d just walk by it all the time,” he recalled. “Eventually, I scraped it off the wall, and someone preserved it and painted on it. That was the first prototype version.”
Through a series of trial and error, Sook evolved the concept of the butterfly until he landed on the final product that’s displayed in the downtown core today.
“You’re getting all these walks of life coming through who are able to integrate with this work in a new way,” he said. “I want people to feel tied to their community and see themselves through this work — the flaws, the imperfections, but the beauty as well.”
Soaring beyond the butterfly
To the naked eye, the butterflies around Union Station are splashed with various colours and patterns — bringing a positive and uplifting feel to the downtown hub. But the flying insects also have some underlying metaphors, according to Sook.
Like a butterfly evolving from its chrysalis, he hopes viewers can connect with his vision of the evolution of Black art and the meaning of Black History Month — not just by honouring the past but building for a better future as well.
“For too long, Black art has been contextualized within the range of trauma and a specific history that is perpetuated,” he said. “There are artists who communicate that so well within that genre, so I felt as though it was something where we needed to start also looking for the future.”
“Because Toronto and Canada have been coming to terms with its past, [art has] almost reached a place of redundancy. My goal is to be able to breathe fresh life to that space from the stance of a Black male, but also as an artist looking to create,” he added.
While the banners outside Union showcase a single butterfly repeated over and over, the butterflies in the art displayed inside the station are all different from one another.
Sook noted this was done on purpose.
“It’s a satirical irony,” he explained.
“I felt the need to communicate singularity on this large canvas, but when you actually dive into this series of installations, there’s this uniqueness that happens. I thought it was a great way to open the conversation.”
Honouring past, present and future
Sook’s work at Union Station is just the beginning of what promises to be a very successful year for him in Canada’s art scene.
Among the projects he currently has on the go, Sook created a piece that will be displayed at the Gordie Howe International Bridge projected to open this fall.
Called “Make a Joyful Noise,” the artwork acknowledges the history of the Underground Railroad in the Windsor-Detroit area and will be visible to motorists as they enter and exit Canada on the multi-use path.
The sculpture is a free-standing, circular metal structure composed of replica church pews and intentional lighting. The pews represent the church’s role in providing safe harbour for travellers from the southern states to freedom in the north.
The circular design, meanwhile, represents the idea of looking up to the sky — which offered direction to those advancing through the Underground Railroad.
“It’s really exciting,” he said. “That project is very much historically based. With my practice, sometimes I look back and sometimes I look forward. My practice is about the past, present and future — and the work is for the people.”
“To young Black artists: you can do whatever you want. Not only people of the African American diaspora, but across different races and generations. You can create limitlessly.”
