… On the land, on the body, on and off the walls…
Beyond the traditional walls and white-cube space of the gallery, these projects highlight works on and about the land, and depict the body as space, standing in harmonious tension with Canada 150 discourse.
Taking up physical space in, out and on a large gallery, the exhibition (September 22–April 22, 2018) performed a major shift at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG), curated by Dr. Julie Nagam and myself (shameless mention). This exhibition celebrated and asserted Indigenous presence on these lands long before 150 years. The WAG’s largest-ever contemporary Indigenous exhibition featured 12 new commissions from artists across Canada considering movements of political insurgency and cultural resurgence. One of the artists commissioned was Kenneth Lavallee, a Winnipeg-based artist, (2017). Lavallee’s work draws on local histories, the parallels of Indigenous mythologies, classical Greek and biblical texts to explore balance, harmony and connection to the universe. His work evokes a sense of movement and water, inspired by creation stories and the destruction of the “great floods.” makes the wall come alive with rich, teal-coloured curvilinear lines that contrast the building’s late modernist, pale tyndall stone structure. will leave a lasting mark on the WAG’s exterior, with a mural that will hold a permanent memory of taking up space for Indigenous contemporary work at the WAG and in Winnipeg. WAG curators also teamed up with Wall-to-Wall Mural Festival/Synonym Art Consultation to partner and support a collaboration mural between artists Dee Barsy (Winnipeg) and Jordan Bennett (Stephenville Crossing, Ktaqmkuk) called (2017), which will grace the walls of Great West Life at 650 Broadway Street in the West End of Winnipeg and on the WAG for the duration of the exhibition.
