sum of the parts

Divya Mehra, Felix Kalmenson, Casey Wei, Deanna Bowen, Krista Belle

March 24 – July 18, 2018
Curated by Jenn Jackson

Throughout the spring season of 2018, 221A hosts sum of the parts, a curatorial research project by Jenn Jackson which brings together a selection of films, performances and installations by Deanna Bowen, Felix Kalmenson, Divya Mehra, Krista Belle Stewart and Casey Wei, who present compelling excavations of the past, by drawing from familial, historic, and archival sources—visualizing narratives of race and class, and their recognition within official records.

Each film and performance provides a framework for a larger narrative of archival complexities—offering a visual key to examine discourses on the commodification and construction of historic record in relation to the business of archival storage, preservation, and dissemination within the public realm. In mining the potential of the private and public archive, these artists interrogate the visual and material nature of historical reference and activate immaterial records. Research associated with sum of the parts will form a new collection at Pollyanna 圖書館 Library.

Jenn Jackson is a curator and writer who lives and works in Vancouver. Previously she held positions at the Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary; Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre; Satellite Art Gallery, Vancouver; The Rennie Collection, Vancouver; Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver; the Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton and Color Magazine, Vancouver. Jackson studied Critical and Cultural Practices at Emily Carr University; General Fine Arts at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art and is an MA Art History candidate at the University of British Columbia.

sum of the parts is supported by the Killy Foundation and the Audain Endowment through the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, at The University of British Columbia.