When artist Dawit L. Petros describes his practice, he frames it as a way of building spaces for thought and encounter.
“I am a visual artist. I work in a range of media, but I think of myself as an installation artist. And so, I create environments, installations which are comprised of photographs, moving image objects, sometimes text, screen prints, sound,” he says.
Petros’s exhibition From the Edge of the Horizon I at Remai Modern brings together these forms, weaving works into immersive environments. The horizon—at once geographical and metaphorical—is a recurring motif.
“I grew up in Saskatchewan surrounded by space, surrounded by the horizon. And for many years, the horizon was something that I associated with being this geographical delineation… But I’ve increasingly began to understand it as something that is an internal condition. It’s an idea for me that is connected to possibility, to a certain capaciousness and fertility.”
The Horizon as a Connector
For Petros, horizons are not only visual markers but also connective tissue between geographies and histories.
“The horizon of the sea, the horizon of the prairie is a backdrop for a lot of work… It is the point with which I use to connect different photographs, different moving images. So it appears in the work, photographically, but it also appears as a geometric abstraction”.
That interplay between landscape, abstraction, and history reflects Petros’s own biography. Born in Eritrea, raised in Saskatoon, and educated internationally, his life has been shaped by displacement and mobility.
“Movement is a defining feature of my own biography… it’s meant that my own histories come into contact with communities and individuals who are also in movement around the world. And so, it’s this shared condition that is central to who I am and how I see.”
The Impact of Prairie Roots
Despite his international career, Saskatoon remains central to Petros’s story. He recalls three places in the city that shaped him: his family homes in Brevoort Park and College Park, the Mendel Art Gallery, and the South Saskatchewan River.
“The Mendel was really, really instrumental because that was my first sustained public engagement with art. And where I began to ask… where are my stories and my narratives and concerns?”
Not seeing work that spoke directly to his life or community shaped how he approached his artistic practice, motivating him to carve out space for overlooked voices.
“I didn’t grow up in a city that reflected my perspectives or experiences in the world, and so it limited my sense of what I thought I could do in the world… It is imperative that those of us who have different histories are part of the storytelling.”
In addition to forming the seeds of his artistic practice, growing up in Saskatoon taught Petros to value space, reflection, and community.
“It’s taken me a long time to recognize what a gift it was to grow up in this city, surrounded by space. And I always say that growing up here gave me the capacity to see with a certain subtlety and nuance”.
Resonance and Response
Though his work comes from a very personal place, Petros hopes it prompts reflection and dialogue among diverse audiences.
“I hope people feel moved to respond. The worst thing that I think an artist’s work can encounter is indifference. So, I hope people respond in whatever way they respond.” For diasporic communities in Saskatoon, his exhibition offers representation and affirmation.
“I hope that it enables these various diasporic communities to recognize a different set of horizons.”
About the Artist
Dawit L. Petros is an Eritrean-born, Canadian-raised artist whose work explores migration, displacement, and the politics of space. He holds an MFA in Visual Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University, Boston, and has exhibited widely across North America, Europe, and Africa. His projects have been featured at institutions including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Kunsthalle Wien.
From the Edge of the Horizon I is on view in Remai Modern’s Feature Gallery until March 8, 2026. A companion exhibition, From the Edge of the Horizon II, is on view at the University of Saskatchewan’s College Art Galleries until December 12, 2025.