This group exhibition presents artists who examine the complex, and at times tenuous, links that tie some of us to the political, cultural, and geographic entity known as Canada. The artists share their unique perspectives as Indigenous and racialized Canadians, employing time-based media and digital technologies to navigate, and perhaps mitigate, the oppression and exclusion frequently endured by their communities. From reconstructions of homes to memories of other places, from estrangement to expressions of longing, and from critical analysis to more sentimental engagements, the artists reflect on their experiences of alienation from the tremulous terrain to which they are supposed to belong.
The artists’ works raise a number of questions: Is Canada defined and accessed differently by various groups? What does the “nation” mean when Indigenous peoples continue to suffer, on their own land, from disproportionate rates of incarceration, dispossession, and homelessness? What does being Canadian signify for the racialized and diasporic populations who are routinely discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or intersections of these and other identities? How do these communities make themselves at home in a country that may be inhospitable and even hostile toward them, despite ostensibly inclusive public rhetoric? What insights do these “otherized” points of view—diverse, and often underrepresented—offer, and how do they shed light on less familiar ways of being situated in a place?
The exhibition features works by Canadian artists Sarah-Mecca Abdourahman, Rana Nazzal Hamadeh, Atefeh Khademolreza, José Andrés Mora, Nadia Myre, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Jin-me Yoon, and Shaheer Zazai, who serve as vital cultural mediators at a time of crisis and strife. From Myre’s reflections on the Canadian flag to Santiago’s desire to connect with distant ancestors, and from Mora’s invisible musings on place to Abdourahman’s apprehensions about the virtual realm, the artists actively rethink and even subvert existing assumptions about belonging. Instead, they suggest alternative, bottom-up, and authentic ways of placemaking to account for the varied backgrounds, layered experiences, and plural creeds forming the multifaceted identities of this land’s inhabitants.
These artists challenge common conceptions of nationhood by acknowledging the fraught history and current reality of Canada, while exploring their relationship with its contested territories. Together, they point to the shifting ground underneath our feet, in a world characterized by uncertainties and flux. They also deliberately shake the ground to reveal anxieties and grief, and illuminate the truths—and even wisdom—inherent in being alienated from home.
Shifting Ground is curated by Amin Alsaden.
