Victoria Laube | Exfoliation

Exfoliation features photo-based works by artist Victoria Laube that explore the diverse manifestations of grief—its trace on the bodies, memories, and objects left behind. 

Created in the process of coming to terms with her mother’s life and death, the works in this exhibition address familial relationships, intergenerational trauma, and the prospect of healing amidst profound loss. Laube likens her process to “rubbing and scraping … wondering what’s under the crust, still alive, waiting to be born?” The resulting works interrogate the boundary between ourselves and those we love. 

Exfoliation is an intimate portrayal of one artist’s experience of grief—and its eventual shedding—bringing to light the fundamental relationship between death and regeneration. 

Recipient of the 2026 Project XO Award, Victoria Laube is an interdisciplinary Canadian artist whose practice is rooted in photography, but who uses a variety of other media and techniques in her art making. Within the lens-based realm, she engages in both “stream of consciousness” shooting of the quotidian and staged “subconscious” self-portraiture. In these two ways, she uses her practice not only to reconcile personal challenges, but also to uncover and explore the ordinary, often overlooked, phenomena of life—metamorphosis, degradation, aging, and death. 

Curator: Dr. Amy Wallace
Translation and editing: Marie-Camille Lalande, Véronique Couillard
Design: Sophie Nakashima
Installation: Stephanie Germano, Dan Austin, Emma Litschko, Mark Garland, Neil Hossak 

The Project XO Award recognizes the merits of a publicly presented photographic project by an artist who demonstrates an ongoing connection to the Ottawa region. The award recipient is selected by a jury of arts, photography, and media experts and is presented by SPAO and the Ottawa Art Gallery, with supporting sponsors Centre de production DAÏMÔN and Wall Space Gallery + Framing.