Tribe Inc. is an artist-run centre working outside of th e constraints of a fixed gallery location enabling collaborations with vari ous institutions. Together Tribe Inc. and AKA artist-run\, formerly ‘Aka Ga llery\,’ have maintained a longstanding partnership. In the celebration of Tribe’s 20th Anniversary\, AKA artist-run will host an exhibition of new wo rk by Dana Claxton. When looking at our history we realize d that Claxton was the first solo exhibition that Tribe presented in 1997 a nd it was also her first solo exhibition as an artist. The installation pre sented in collaboration with ‘Aka Gallery’ has now become one of Claxton’s most influential works of her career. This work was titled Buffalo Bone Chi na.
In Buffalo Bone China Claxton blends performance art\, found obje cts and video to dissect the effects upon First Nations peoples due to poli cies from colonial Canadian and the United States regarding the state sanct ioned extermination of the American bison. Bison were slaughtered and their bones crushed and exported to England to make bone china. In the performan ce Claxton smashes pieces of china and makes four bundles\, placing the bun dles in a sacred circle while a video of buffalo plays in the background. “ Feeling the loss of the buffalo\, the backbone of Plains spirituality and s ustenance\, the artist uses a rubber mallet to destroy plates and bowls. Th e breaking of the china refers to the use of buffalo bones in the making of bone china during the period of exploitation and decimation of the buffalo .”
Claxton’s new exhibition Dana Claxton\; Revisited will fe
ature a two channel installation that addresses the issue of land and the i
ndigenous body specifically in the Plains region:
”I’m influ
enced by my own experience as a Lakota woman\, as a Canadian\, a mixed bloo
d Canadian\, and then my own relationship to the natural and supernatural w
orld. So taking that whole bundle of experiences\, it all goes in to the ar
twork\, I think that’s where the multi-layering comes in because I’ve had a
very multi-layered life. And it’s all those experiences that go in to the
work.”
– Dana Claxton\, 2007
About the artist
Born of Lakota Sioux descent\, Dana Claxton investigates the ong oing impact of colonialism on Aboriginal cultures in North America\, primar ily through film\, video and photography. Her practice considers Indigenous beauty\, the socio-political and the spiritual\, among other themes. Claxt on is well known for her work The Mustang Suite of 2008\, a series of stage d photographic portraits of a stylish\, contemporary Aboriginal family. In this series\, each family member is portrayed with their own personalized f orm of “mustang\,” whether it be a muscle car or a banana-seat bicycle. She has exhibited widely\, including at the Museum of Modern Art\, the Walker Art Center and the Sundance Film Festival. Exhibitions include the 2010 Bie nnale of Sydney and “Beat Nation” at the Vancouver Art Gallery and other ve nues. Her work is in major collections including those of the National Gall ery of Canada\, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Winnipeg Art Gallery\, an d she has received numerous awards including the VIVA Award from the Doris and Jack Shadbolt Foundation and the Eiteljorg Fellowship from the Eiteljor g Museum. Dana Claxton is also an assistant professor in the visual arts fa culty at the University of British Columbia. Her family reserve is Lakota F irst Nations – Wood Mountain.
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