February 6 – March 20, 2010
Audain Gallery SFU Woodward’s
149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
http://www.audaingallery.ca/
First Nations / Second NatureFirst Nations / Second NatureArtworks include a lightbox by American artist Sam Durant which illuminates the words “You Are on Indian Land Show Some Respect.” The text is a faithful reconstruction from archival photographs of a handmade protest sign of Native American civil rights protests in the United States. It is part of a larger Durant series that considers how historical moments gain new interpretations and presence in the present.
“Deeds/Nations” and “Deeds/Abstracts: The History of a London Lot”, by the late Greg Curnoe, investigates the settlement history of London, Ontario. Just prior to his death, Curnoe attempted to record every person who has lived in the London region. His aim was to return to the public record the First Nations members who signed the original land surrenders, together with other First Nations people and settlers of the period. This research and archive based work, brings together his original research material, ephemera and paintings.
Pia Fuchs (German ID of Patricia Reed) contributes Untitled (Pan-National Flag), which broadly questions how territory is defined and publicly symbolized. It combines the outlines of flags from each country recognized by the UN, creating an almost absurd national emblem.
A newly commissioned work by Vancouver artist Rebecca Belmore will be in the Hastings Street window of the gallery.
The show also includes a new work from Jimmie Durham, an important figure in contemporary indeigenous art, a work from Cheryl L’Hirondelle in collaboration with Andrew Lee, and a photo-text installation by New York-based artists Andrea Geyer and a large-scale installaion by Matthew Buckingham, also of New York.
Early humorous and pointed drawings by Brian Jungen complete the show.
The exhibition is curated by Candice Hopkins, the Sobey Curatorial Resident of Indigenous Art at the National Gallery of Canada.
First Nations / Second Nature is part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
Feb. 6– March 20, 2010
Tuesday – Saturday 2pm- 8pm
Opening: February 6th, 7pm
Location: 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver
About the Audain Gallery
Named in honour of arts supporter Michael Audain, the Audain Gallery will serve as a vital aspect of the Visual Arts program at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, particularly in relation to the School’s pedagogical practices, its emphasis on critical thinking, and its engagement with contemporary art practices. The Audain Gallery’s mission is to advance the aesthetic and discursive production and presentation of contemporary visual art in Vancouver and internationally through a program of exhibitions in a flexible project space and in support of engaged pedagogy. The Audain Gallery encourages conceptual and experimental projects that explores how contemporary art is socially and politically formed and formative. The Gallery works in close collaboration with the SFU Visual Arts faculty: Sabine Bitter, Allyson Clay, Judy Radul, Elspeth Pratt, and Jin-Me Yoon.
The Audain Gallery is curated by Sabine Bitter.
