Rachel Khedoori, “Untitled (Iraq Book Project),” 2008–2010
Installation view: Hauser & Wirth London, 2010. (Photo by Peter Mallet, courtesy of Rachel Khedoori and Hauser & Wirth)
Making sense of difficult histories
The 1978 Iranian Revolution. The 2003 Iraq War. And, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Artists Hannah Darabi, Rachel Khedoori and Ron Terada take on these subjects in From Slander’s Brand on now through Feb. 4, 2024 at The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver. Based in Paris, Darabi is known for bringing together photography, texts, archival images and other objects in her work, while Khedoori is a Zurich-based artist whose installation consists of 70 books that contain news stories found online by searching “Iraq,” “Iraqi” and “Baghdad.” Terada, who lives in Vancouver, often uses text, pop culture and conceptual sources for his practice. “A single image cannot adequately represent a period of time, particularly one that is disruptive and chaotic,” says Reid Shier, the gallery’s executive director. “The artworks featured in From Slander’s Brand explore the contentious process of shaping memory and history.”
Franklin Carmichael, “A Northern Silver Mine,” 1930
oil on canvas, 40" x 48” (courtesy of McMichael Canadian Art Collection)
Cobalt: A Mining Town and the Canadian Imagination
Art inspired by Cobalt, Ont. is the subject of a new art exhibition at The McMichael Canadian Art Collection. Established in 1904, Cobalt is a small town located about 500 kilometres north of Toronto. But for a few years at the dawn of the last century, it became famous for its natural resources — in particular, silver, cobalt, ore and nickel deposits. By 1911, it was producing one eighth of the world’s silver and was known around the world for its booming economy and the natural beauty surrounding it.
Guest curated by Dr. Catharine Mastin, Cobalt: A Mining Town and the Canadian Imagination is on now through April 21, 2024 and features the work of Canadian modern artists who visited the town between the First and Second World Wars. Artists include Yvonne McKague Housser, Bess Larkin Housser Harris, Isabel McLaughlin, A.Y. Jackson and Franklin Carmichael. “These artists created works that depicted Canada as a new, modern industrial nation in step with the future — a contrast to the better-known works from this period that picture Canada as untouched wilderness,” according to a news release.
Sunder Singh Thandi, left, and Jassa Singh in front of a flatdeck truck. Taken on Main Street, Vancouver, 1939. (photo courtesy of The Reach Archives)
South Asian-Canadian history at The Reach
The South Asian Canadian community of Abbotsford is the focus of Des Pardes, a new exhibition at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. The exhibition title comes from a Hindi-Punjabi phrase that translates to “home and abroad” or “motherland/other land” and is used to describe the South Asian Canadian experience. One of The Reach’s biggest projects to date, Des Pardes includes historical photos, oral histories, interviews, objects and art. “This project is important to our community, and to the broader historical narrative of the region,” says Laura Schneider, Executive Director of The Reach. “The Reach has featured exhibitions about various aspects of South Asian-Canadian history in the past, but the scope of community involvement that was undertaken to develop this project better represents the diversity of experience that exists in our community and makes it truly special.”
Des Pardes is on view through May 18, 2024.
“Ponokaakii,” 2023 (image by Marjie Crop Eared Wolf)
Marjie Crop Eared Wolf: Contemporary Pictograph
Born in Fort Macleod, Alta, Káínai Secwépemc artist Marjie Crop Eared Wolf was introduced to art by her father, an artist who studied at Emily Carr University.
Crop Eared Wolf, who holds a fine arts degree from the University of Lethbridge, draws on her background as well as western art practices for her work, which includes a variety of media: painting, photography, installation. Her work has been shown at the Esker Foundation, Art Gallery of Alberta and others. Her new show Ponokaakii, is on view at the Helen Christou Gallery at U of L through March 9, 2024.
Curated by Josephine Mills, the show includes preliminary designs that Crop Eared Wolf has created for public art in Lethbridge, as well as her Contemporary Pictograph series. “Pictographs were used to record events as in winter counts, coupe record and spiritual gifts received. Pictographs were painted on buffalo robes, rock faces, and site specific landmarks of importance to First Nations people,” Crop Eared Wolf has said. “I understand these pictographs as a means of storytelling, self-portrait and biographical art.”
Onondaga chief Isaac Hill Kaweneseronton of the Six Nations Confederacy with a wampum in his hand and another around his neck, William Notman, wet collodion negative, 1870
Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy
The people of Onondaga Nation, centred near Syracuse, N.Y., are sometimes called the “Wampum Keepers.” Their wampum creations contain purple and white shell beads woven into strings and belts for ceremonies, to carry messages, to record historical events and to ratify treaties. Wampum belts are sacred to many Indigenous nations. The McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal is presenting an exhibition, on now through March 10, 2024, of wampum belts that have traded hands for more than two centuries at diplomatic meetings between Indigenous nations of northeastern North America as well as with Europeans. The exhibition includes more than 40 wampum belts, including 13 from the McCord’s own collection, as well as 50 other objects bearing witness to the diplomatic exchanges that have taken place between nations since the 17th century. The participation of contemporary Indigenous voices in the exhibition will highlight the continuing importance of wampum in Indigenous cultures today. ■
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