b.1962, Canada
www.recordism.com

William A. Davison is a Canadian multi-disciplinary artist born in Nova Scotia, and based in Toronto since 1989. He has been producing art for almost 40 years, working in visual art, film and video, performance art, music/sound, writing/poetry, networking, artistic collaboration, organizing/curating, and publishing. As a reaction to the cultural isolation and conservatism he experienced growing up in Nova Scotia, Davison sought out anything strange, nonconforming and subversive. His art and ideas developed under the influence of science fiction, the occult, underground and avant-garde comics, psychedelia, Dada and Surrealism, punk, post-punk, and industrial music culture.

In 1984 he founded Recordism, his own idiosyncratic take on Surrealism. His prolific and eclectic artistic output derives from an uncompromising experimental approach and a commitment to the punk D.I.Y. ethos. Davison’s dedication to enlivening his local scene has gone hand in hand with an international reach via appearances at major festivals, exhibitions, and events, as well as through numerous publications and audio releases. W.A.Davison was a recipient of an Acker Award in 2018.