Since Then
to
Kamloops Art Gallery 101-465 Victoria St, Kamloops, British Columbia V2C 2A9
Justin Sorensen, "The Foolish Builder," 2012
video still, Courtesy of the artist
Rebecca Belmore, Garry Neill Kennedy, Justin Sorensen, Dana Claxton, Janet Kigusiuq, Derek Sullivan, Leah Decter, Cheryl L'Hirondelle, Ione Thorkelsson, Demian Dinéyazhi', Kent Monkman, Rachael Thorleifson, Mark Emerak, Peter Morin, Chih-Chien Wang, Cliff Eyland, Lisa Myers, Christopher Wool , Félix González-Torres, Jude Norris, Helga Jakobson, Rúrí
Postulating what the future might hold, this exhibition looks to histories of survival as a starting point for a conversation about the possibilities of endurance, cross-cultural exchange and legacy. By looking at artwork that depicts survival, that alludes to hybridity and transformation, and that carries with it the physical markers of distress as part of their conceptual make-up, Since Then challenges preconceived notions of what it is to endure from both a historical and a contemporary point of view.
The artworks featured in Since Then are in turn humorous, confounding and rooted in an awareness of colonial violence. Themes such as water, literature, mythologies and time travel are prevalent, as are factual accounts of hardships. These themes emerge and are explored through a variety of media including video, photography, works on paper, performance and site-specific installation in order to inform this conversation concerning an aesthetics of survival. How is the road forward paved with stories of what has come before? What has happened Since Then?
This sprawling, multi-faceted group exhibition poses questions about what it means to survive and how the markers of survival sometimes, necessarily, force a dialogue about its opposite.
Published in response to this research is a special issue of CV2, The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing, featuring a 16-page visual art supplement of work from Since Then as well as an exploratory text by the curator.
Artist and independent curator Tania Willard has also curated a performance series in response to Since Then, to be presented over the course of the exhibition.
Since Then was originally produced in Winnipeg for núna (now) – Icelandic Canada Art Convergence, as part of their 10th anniversary programming in 2016.