Kevin Whitaker, former judge turned full-time painter after a Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia diagnosis, returns to Back Lane Studios in Toronto’s Roncesvalles neighbourhood for his 10th and final exhibit. Since his first show just five years ago, Kevin has raised over $200,000 for research into the disease through the sale of his paintings.
This latest and last exhibit, opening Thursday, Nov. 23, includes new paintings, reviews Kevin’s artistic evolution and offers an intimate look at Kevin’s family and their fearless battle with a disease they now call The Dictator. Ironically, that was the title of one of Kevin’s first large-scale paintings following his diagnosis, and only now, as LBD Parkinson’s tightens its grip, has it become clear who that cruel Dictator has been — dementia.
Kevin, 2023: Defying the Dictator.
Marie Moliner, his partner in love and life, will also present their next advocacy adventure – sharing their story, along with helpful tips and resources, for families like theirs coping with dementia. She has been recording their journey relentlessly and honestly but with humour in her “Diaries of an Accidental Caregiver,” and will offer excerpts, accompanied by professional illustrations, as part of the exhibit.
Kevin: Defying the Dictator opens Thursday, Nov. 23, 4:00-7:30 pm at Back Lane Studios, 9 Neepawa Ave., continuing weekends, 12:00-3:00 pm, and by appointment to Dec. 3.
For more information: Email info@backlanestudios.ca or mariemoliner88@gmail.com; call 647-313-1654.
Video Links: Two short documentaries have been made about Kevin and Marie, the role art has played in defining their lives after Kevin’s diagnosis and the realities of living with dementia: Parkinson’s and the Power of Art, and Still Headroom.
Kevin’s Past Exhibits:
Lawyer and former civil servant Marie Moliner is now full-time caregiver for her husband and former judge Kevin Whitaker.
Still Headroom: Screening and Art Exhibit, Nov. 2022
More and more of us are having to cope with dementia — in our families, friends and ourselves. Kevin Whitaker, diagnosed in 2014 with Parkinson’s and Lew Body Dementia, and his wife and now full-time caregiver Marie Moliner have taken on the challenge and carved out a new, rewarding life in the face of a devastating disease. Their experiences hold lessons for us all!
Kevin, with Marie’s support, has been able to develop his talent for painting, raising $200,000 for research through the sale of his work. We are thrilled to showcase his ninth exhibit in almost five years at Back Lane, opening Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022 at 12:45pm.
The Documentary
On a daily basis, Marie has been capturing the pain, humour and struggle of coping with debilitating illness on her phone, and filmmakers Jeana McCabe and Jordan McTavish have woven that footage into a 24-minute documentary, Still Headroom: Parkinson’s and the Power of Care. While the film reveals the suffering and difficulties faced by the couple, it also highlights the joy, humour and the mutual love and respect they share. Watch the trailer here.
The film received its premiere on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Revue Cinema, just before Kevin’s latest exhibit opened at Back Lane Studios.
This is the second documentary Jeana and Jordan have made about Kevin, his art and his diagnosis. The first, Chasing Monsters: Parkinson’s and the Power of Art, was completed in 2018 after Kevin’s first exhibit at Back Lane Studios.
The Panel
Following the screening, there was a panel discussion about the role caregivers play in the “treatment” of patients and families living with dementia. Panel participants brought experience in caregiving and a deep knowledge of neurocognitive disease:
- Ron Beleno, caregiver advocate who looked after his father, who had Alzheimer’s, for the last 10 years of his life.
- Dr. Mario Masselis, neurologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
- Dr. Ana Luiza Pinto Oliveira, research fellow whose work has been supported in part by Kevin Whitaker’s fundraising through the sale of his paintings.
- Katie MacLean, social worker and lead on the Enhancing Care Project, Alzheimer’s Society, Toronto.
If you missed the documentary and panel, both will be shown on line in January. If you are interested in seeing it, please email us at info@backlanestudios.ca.
The Art Exhibit: Still Headroom
Kevin’s exhibit with new work opens at Back Lane Studios immediately following the screening and panel discussion at the Revue. A prolific painter, his works are filled with colour, energy and hallucinatory images. He has captured what has been happening in his mind and raised about $200,000 for Parkinson’s and Lewy Body Dementia research. (The accompanying image, Still Headroom, is one of Kevin’s latest paintings.) Below, is more information about Kevin and his earlier exhibits, as well as a link to the first video Jeana and Jordan made about Kevin, his painting and his diagnosis.
Exhibit hours: Saturday, Nov. 26: 12:45pm-3pm. Sunday, Nov. 27, Saturday, Dec. 3, Sunday Dec. 4, 1pm-4pm and by appointment.
Exhibit location: Back Lane Studios!
Net proceeds from the screening and sale of paintings and prints will be donated to research and supports related to Parkinson’s and Dementia. For more information, email ellen@backlanestudios.ca or call 647-313-1654.
A Back Lane Studios’ documentary Chasing Monsters: Parkinson’s & the Power of Art about former judge turned painter Kevin Whitaker premiered Dec. 1 , 2018 at the Revue Cinema. Click here to view the video.
Exhibit: 2018 Bella Ciao: The world is too much with us.
Kevin Whitaker found inspiration for this exhibit in Tom Waits’s interpretation of Bella Ciao, William Wordsworth’s sonnet and the Bayeux tapestry.
Screening, exhibit a great success!
2018: Back Lane Studios’ documentary about Kevin Whitaker, the former judge who took up painting after his diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia, premiered Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, at our event Parkinson’s and the Power of Art at the Revue Cinema. The short film, directed by Jeana McCabe with Jordan McTavish, is now available on line. Click here to watch it. Some of Kevin’s paintings still can be viewed at the studio for those who are interested. Give us a call at 647-313-1654 or email us to visit the studio and see them.
Kevin, left, speaks with visitors at Back Lane Studios at his show opening.
The Revue Cinema was packed on Saturday morning, Dec. 1, for the screening of Chasing Monsters: Parkinson’s and the Power of Art. The short documentary was created by Back Lane’s filmmaker-instructors Jeana McCabe and Jordan McTavish. The screening was be followed by a panel moderated by author and former Globe and Mail medical reporter Carolyn Abraham. Bringing their expertise were Kevin, neurologist Dr. Mario Masellis, and Saba Shahid,who has developed an art program for Parkinson’s patients in the United States.
Thanks to the many people who came out to the event at the Revue and Kevin’s art exhibit at Back Lane. Thanks to the Revue Cinema for generously donating the theatre for the screening. And congratulations to all who contributed to the event’s success: Jeana and Jordan for their documentary, Chasing Monsters; our panelists and moderator. Particular thanks to Kevin and his wife Marie Moliner, for sharing their journey.
A big crowd came to the Revue to see the documentary about Kevin and hear the panel about art and neuro-degenerative diseases.
Called Bella Ciao: The World is Too Much With Us, Kevin’s exhibit drew inspiration from the recent version of the song Bella Ciao, interpreted by Tom Waits; the poem by William Wordsworth; and the Bayeux Tapestry, the 11thcentury 70-metre-long chronicle of the Norman Conquest.
What is the connection with a medieval embroidered work of art? As Kevin observes, “The young man recruited to invade England in 1066 is the same young man that is recruited to bomb Iraq or join a drug gang.” In his paintings, which evoke chaos, pain and moments of joy, Kevin wants to convey the friction between youth and the state as it furthers the violence required to maintain empires.
Proceeds of the screening and exhibit will go to Parkinson’s research. Kevin hopes to raise enough to fund a fellowship at Sunnybrook Hospital dedicated to LBD Parkinson’s. Be generous! Please donate through the Sunnybrook site!
Exhibit: Reverie, 2021:
Parkinson’s behind prolific painting career
This will be Kevin’s fifth show at Back Lane Studios since 2018. It will also mark an important transition. Kevin and his partner Marie Moliner will be moving permanently from Toronto to Quebec where they have spent the past 22 months during the pandemic. They have found the environment in the Eastern Townships more conducive for managing Kevin’s progressive disease.
Since the onset of the disease, Kevin has found purpose in his art, turning his energy full-throttle to his painting. The work of George Orwell and Vincent van Gogh, he says, are a source of inspiration. His images are arresting, bold, colourful and sometimes violent in their energy. They evoke the emotional turmoil and hallucinations, unleashed by his condition; and reflect his outward looking concerns about social injustice and oppression.
The names of his earlier exhibits reflect these preoccupations:
- Chasing Monsters
- The Last Supper: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
- Bella Ciao: The World is Too Much With Us
- Surveillance
- Faith
- Pandemonium
- Courage
Has Kevin found peace in the work he has done for Reverie? Drop by Back Lane Studios and experience the power of his paintings. Hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 11am to 2pm, until Dec. 5, 2021.
New Paintings by Kevin Whitaker, opens Nov. 16, 2021
Interviews and articles about Kevin
Listen and read more about Kevin and his new career as artist. CTV reporter Avis Favaro’s piece about Kevin aired in November. Globe & Mail reporter Brad Wheeler interviewed Kevin about his art. Matt Galloway interviewed Kevin on Metro Morning. CBC Toronto also ran a short television doc about the exhibit. Here’s an article in the Toronto Observer about Kevin and his exhibit by Centennial journalism student Varsha Ramdihol.
Exhibit: Faith, Nov. 2019
Back Lane welcomed former Ontario Superior Court judge Kevin Whitaker for his third exhibit at our studio, which opened Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. Kevin turned to painting after being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2015, a debilitating form of Parkinson’s. His output of large, powerful acrylic canvases has been prodigious. The themes have paralleled the impact of his illness and his emotional and intellectual responses. In this exhibit, he explores faith. He maintains an analysis of faith is essential to navigate one’s way in a world where different viewpoints are always colliding.
Exhibit: 2018 Chasing Monsters
Mayor John Tory visited Kevin’s exhibit. MP Arif Virani, Police Chief Mark Saunders and former mayor David Miller all dropped by to see the show.
A Well-attended Show
Kevin Whitaker’s exhibit, Chasing Monsters, of paintings at Back Lane Studios for three weekends in April, 2018, helped raise $20,000 for Parkinson’s Disease research. Most of the donations were made through the Sunnybrook Foundation website and Toronto General Western.
The show was well-attended. Mayor JohnTory, former mayor David Miller, MP Arif Virani and Police Chief Mark Saunders all came to see Kevin’s exhibit.
A former Ontario Superior Court judge, he took up his paintbrush after being diagnosed with LBD, an atypical form of Parkinson’s that progresses rapidly and affects cognition. The High Park resident has embraced art as a way to cope with the devastating diagnosis several years ago. He is expected to live only five to eight years.
“I am now finding pleasure and purpose through a renewed focus on painting,” he writes. “This series captures the intensity of my daily life: hallucinations, erratic memory and generalized physical discomfort.”
He has also found painting has helped him manage the hallucinations, which have disappeared significantly since he put his brush to canvas. “The exhibit title Chasing Monsters was especially relevant,” he says.
The show was curated by artist Connie van Rijn, a long-time friend of Kevin and his wife Marie Moliner. “Kevin’s paintings are striking, their power is in their authenticity,” she says. “They capture and express what it is to be human . . . pain, bewilderment, humour. They stay with me and change the way I perceive things, in the way true art does.”
All proceeds from the exhibit will be donated to Parkinson’s research.
For Whitaker, the exhibit represents “an important point in my life where I am able to say publicly some of the things that are expressed in these paintings and to share my story.”