A new exhibition at Burnaby Art Gallery is exploring contemporary B.C. indigenous art.
Tania Willard: dissimulation, a multidisciplinary exhibition, is set to run at the gallery from Sept. 15 to Nov. 5. An opening reception and artist talk are set for Thursday, Sept. 14.
The exhibition features the work of B.C.-based artist and curator Tania Willard, of the Secwépemc Nation, with collaborators Gabrielle Hill and Peter Morin.
The three artists make up the New B.C. Indian Art and Welfare Society Collective, who often create work at Willard’s BUSH Gallery in Secwépemculecw.
Willard will be on hand on opening night for a talk from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Everyone is invited to drop in and meet the artist to find out more about her collaborative practice.
“The BUSH Gallery rez-idency was designed and programmed in order to activate concepts and ideas of contemporary Indigenous art, to further explore the parameters of BUSH Gallery and to build on past artist rez-idencies,” Willard says in a press release. “A goal of the BUSH Gallery is to articulate Indigenous creative land practices, which are born out of a lived connection to the land. In the province of British Columbia, this lived connection to the land means a century and a half of land rights and legal struggles begun by our ancestors that continue to this day.”
Jennifer Cane, assistant curator at the Burnaby Art Gallery, notes that the title of the exhibition, dissimulation, “implies a concealment of thought, disguise of one’s character or perhaps a hidden objective.”
“Dissimulation, for the purposes of this exhibition, is also akin to trickery and mimesis, the transformation of one material to another, the relationship between the traditional and contemporary, and between Indigenous and other cultures.”
Reclamation of land, language and culture forms the theme of the show, with images that challenge a history of colonialism and (mis)representation. It features artwork in a variety of mediums: photograms, woodcuts, digital prints, silkscreens, video and textile work.
An exhibition catalogue features an introduction by Cane and entries from Willard and Tara Hogue – curator, writer and Vancouver Art Gallery’s new senior curatorial fellow focusing on Indigenous art.
“(Willard) interrupts the colonial desire to consume images of otherness and claims these images for herself and for her community,” Hogue writes. “Confronting history means confronting a history of representation.”
The exhibition catalogue will be available for purchase for $15, starting Sept. 14.
Dissimulation will be on display at the Burnaby Art Gallery until Nov. 5. The gallery is at 6344 Deer Lake Ave. See www.burnabyart
gallery.ca for all the details.
CHECK IT OUT
The Burnaby Art Gallery has a number of special events planned in connection with the new exhibition Tania Willard: dissimulation. A few highlights:
Opening night: Thursday, Sept. 14. Artist talk with Tania Willard, 6 to 7 p.m. Exhibition opening reception, 7 to 9 p.m. Free, all welcome.
In the BAG Family Sundays:Sept. 17 and Oct. 15, 1 to 4 p.m. Drop-in events, all ages. Visit the exhibition and then get into the studio to make your own art.
Tea and tour: For 55-plus, $7.50. Tuesday, Sept. 19 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Join gallery staff for a guided tour and then enjoy tea and treats in the Fireside Room. Call 604-297-4422 to register.
Culture Days: On Sunday, Oct. 1, you can take in a couple of Culture Days activities as part of the exhibition. Join in a Deer Lake Plant Walk with Cease Wyss, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., or take part in a Sun Printing workshop from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. Registration recommended, call 604-297-4422.
School tour/workshop sessions: Teachers (grades 1 to 12) can book visits (which include tour and hands-on studio time) by calling 604-297-4422.
