Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo): Body Fluid (Blood)

×

Expand

Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo), found image from imgur.com.

Courtesy of the artist.

Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo) is a conceptual, performance and installation artist. Her work often draws on the emotional resonance of found objects and shared experiences, exploring love, mortality, power relations and states of being.

In BODY FLUID (BLOOD), Puppies Puppies considers blood as a liquid that unites us all as humans, while exploring the complexities of our inner workings. The exhibition is formed around a constellation of issues and themes: the artist’s family connections and influences, what it means to share and give blood, and what blood may carry or transmit. The works combine the intensely personal with the anonymous and uniform, considering containment, circulation and the fluidity of self.

The exhibition is also activated by encounters and procedures. On-site HIV testing is offered in a private consultation room within the exhibition space, in collaboration with Saskatoon Sexual Health. Through this presence, testing can be de-stigmatized while raising awareness of HIV prevention, care and community resources.

As a child, Puppies Puppies saw both of her parents donate blood. She wanted to do the same when she got older, but has not been able to under the eligibility criteria established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a member of the queer community, Puppies Puppies acknowledges the personal and political sensitivity around eligibility. The artist encourages donation as a vital and generous act, while also promoting discussion around criteria and risk factors.

In partnership with Canadian Blood Services, transportation from the museum to a blood donation centre on the Lifebus is offered every Saturday at 11 AM for the duration of the exhibition. Guests who visit the donation centre on other days are encouraged to donate under the code BODY175600. Those who may not be eligible, or who choose not to donate, are invited to participate in the project by accompanying or supporting an eligible donor.

Curated by Rose Bouthillier, Curator (Exhibitions)

Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo) lives and works in Los Angeles. Recent exhibitions include Halle für Kunst, Luneberg; Barbara Weiss, Berlin; XYZ Collective, Tokyo; What Pipeline, Detroit; and Overduin & Co., Los Angeles. Her work was featured in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, the 9th Berlin Biennale and X Nicaraguan Biennale. BODY FLUID (BLOOD) is her first solo exhibition in Canada, and first solo museum exhibition in North America.