Phoebe Todd-Parrish is a Canadian artist and printmaker. Phoebe graduated from the Masters of Fine Arts program at the University of Alberta with a specialization in Printmaking in 2018. Prior to moving to Edmonton, she lived in Toronto, where she completed an undergraduate degree in Visual Arts and English Literature at York University, followed by an MA in English from York University in 2016. Her work often incorporates found or altered texts and images in the creation of ambiguous narratives, questioning the palimpsestic nature of language and our relationships. Phoebe currently runs a small press and print studio in Toronto and is a sessional instructor in Print Media at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario.
“This series of linocut prints respond to the architecture and design of diners in my city: Toronto, Canada. I began this series when I realized the ubiquitity of certain features in a diner, which actually stem from their origins in the late 1800s as the first mobile restaurants, which later morphed into pre-fabricated restaurants. This is why the inside of a classic diner always has the recognizable counter, behind which is the flattop grill, and on the opposite side the row of vinyl-and-chrome stools. However similar these places are on the inside, however, the outside design and architecture of the buildings that they inhabit are always unique. Because diners that serve affordable food at (in pre-pandemic times) all hours of the day are getting pushed out of the city by skyrocketing rent prices, demolished by condos or replaced by cannabis shops, I felt it was important to continue to document these establishments, many of which have been there for decades.”
