January 3, 2011

transformative






We were very fortunate to catch an exhibition by Brian Jungen, an artist from British Columbia with Dunne-za ancestry, at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal a few years ago, a show whose inspiration stays with me to this day. Brian's playful wit & outstanding craftsmanship combine to create thought-provoking pieces which comment on the juncture between First Nations culture & contemporary consumerism by working everyday objects into traditional designs & natural objects. Plastic lawn chairs were transformed into an enormous whale skeleton that floated across the gallery, & sneakers were transmogrified into masks which, when suspended from the ceiling, recalled a ghostly ritual. Baseball skins reconfigured & stitched into a skull-like mask made for a melancholy sentinel between the two worlds.

photos from here

2 comments:

  1. That is so awesome that you got to see this in person. Looks like it was an inspiring show.

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  2. It was just what the doctor ordered, as they say. I'm hoping he has another in Montréal or Toronto soon - would love to see what he's up to nowadays.

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