Camille Turner, Jérôme Havre, and Cauleen Smith: Triangle Trade
to
Surrey Art Gallery 13750 88 Ave, Surrey, British Columbia V3W 3L1
Camille Turner, Jérôme Havre, Cauleen Smith, "Triangle Trade," 2017
film still, HD video, 14 min, 31 sec, colour sound. Photo by Alyssa Bistonath.
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 19 | 7:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
As part of their winter exhibition season, Surrey Art Gallery presents a collaborative film project by artists Camille Turner, Jérôme Havre, and Cauleen Smith titled Triangle Trade opening Saturday, January 19 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Triangle Trade will make its British Columbia premiere at Surrey Art Gallery. In this short film, three puppet characters live on an archipelago of islands. As the figures move through their respective environments made of paper, fabric, and paint, they contemplate their relationships to land and belonging. At times, the rugged landscape of sand and rock isolates them. At other times, it offers them the possibility of transformation and greater connection.
The puppets resemble the collaborating artists who worked on the film. They speak about specific relationships between black identity and belonging in contemporary society. Their reflections address both potential futures and alternate histories. Turner’s performance art, Havre’s puppetry, and Smith’s filmmaking come together in an entrancing way. This 14-minute film presents an important conversation and vivid imagery that speaks to our current cultural climate marked by incidences of xenophobia and racism.
Surrey Art Gallery Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Jordan Strom says, “This is a work by three artists at the height of their creative powers, arising out of a year-long cross-border conversation. The messages communicated in these dream-like vignettes are specific while also being universal.”
The opening reception will also celebrate Surrey Art Gallery’s other winter exhibitions: a survey of close to fifty paintings by Surrey-based artist Nicoletta Baumeister in In the Realm of Perception; an ultimate jigsaw puzzle for visitors to interact with in Colette Urban: Gambler; and Crescent Beach Photography Club’s group exhibit Impressionson display in our lobby. The free opening event begins with Nicoletta Baumeister’s artist talk at 6:30 p.m., followed by the reception at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, February 16 from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Triangle Trade artists Camille Turner and Jérôme Havre, along with writer and guest moderator Wayde Compton, will discuss the film. This free event is presented in partnership with the Or Gallery.
About the Artists
Camille Turner is an explorer of race, space, home, and belonging. Born in Jamaica and based in Toronto for many years, she combines Afrofuturism and historical research in her interventions, installations, and public engagements that have been presented throughout Canada and internationally. Wanted, a collaboration with Camal Pirbhai, was presented most recently by the Art Gallery of Ontario and uses the trope of fashion to transform 18th-century newspaper posts by Canadian slave owners into contemporary fashion ads. Camille is the founder of Outerregion, an Afrofuturist performance group. She has lectured at various institutions such as University of Toronto, Algoma University, and Toronto School of Art. She is a graduate of Ontario College of Art and Design and York University’s Masters in Environmental Studies program where she is currently a PhD candidate. http://camilleturner.com/
Jérôme Havre’s multidisciplinary art practice focuses on issues of identity, community, and territory, investigating the political and sociological processes of contemporary life as they relate to nationalism in France and Canada. He uses a variety of tools and methods to make tangible the conditions of identity within situations of social transformation. Havre completed his studies at l’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris). Since 2001, he has exhibited in Europe, Africa, and North America. Recent shows include Talking Back, Otherwise, Jackman Humanities Institute, University of Toronto; Paradis: La fabrique de l’image, espace d’art contemporain 14°N 61°W, Martinique; Land Marks, Art Gallery of Peterborough, Ontario; Liminal (Necessity and accident), The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, ON; and Reiteration, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. He is currently based in Toronto.
Cauleen Smith is an interdisciplinary artist whose work reflects on the everyday possibilities of the imagination. Operating in multiple materials and arenas, Smith roots her work within the discourse of mid-20th-century experimental film. She has had solo shows for her films and installations at The Kitchen (New York), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and Threewalls (Chicago). Smith is the recipient of several grants and awards including the Rockefeller Media Arts Award and the Chicago Expo Artadia Award. Smith was born in California and earned a BA in Creative Arts from San Francisco State University and an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Theater Film and Television. Smith is currently a faculty member in the School of Art at the California Institute of Art. http://www.cauleensmith.com/
About Surrey Art Gallery
Internationally recognized for its award-winning programs, Surrey Art Gallery, located at 13750 88 Avenue in Surrey, is the second largest public art museum in Metro Vancouver. Founded in 1975, the Gallery presents contemporary art by local, national, and international artists, including digital and audio art. Its extensive public programs for children through to adults aim to engage the public in an ongoing conversation about issues and ideas that affect our communities and to provide opportunities to interact with artists and the artistic process. Admission is free. Surrey Art Gallery gratefully acknowledges the financial assistance of the City of Surrey, Province of BC through BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and the Surrey Art Gallery Association.