Friend or Foe is an exhibition featuring new work by two of C anada’s most respected visual artists – Rebecca Belmore and Terrance Houle\ , curated by Darrin Martens MA Candidate\, Critical and Cu ratorial Studies\, UBC.
Opening at the Or Gallery in Vancouver on Apr il 24\, 2010
Titled Friend or Foe the exhibition explores the stereot yped First Nations body within contemporary social contexts. Belmore shall be represented by a new video projection based on a recent performance held at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology. The perfor mance explores\, on one level the relationship between First Nations and th e Museum and secondly the homeless aboriginal body. Alongside this work wil l be a reconfigured video work from the 2009 Hive Festival- Victorious. Hou le’s contribution includes a recent series of pin-hole photographs document ing and questioning aboriginal stereotypes within the context of First Nati ons dioramas at the Calgary Stampede alongside a new video projection which examines the myths and proliferations of “Indian Sign Language” and the qu estion of identity presented within this context.
Guest curator Darri n Martens explains\, “Friend or Foe boldly questions how the Aboriginal bod y may be utilized to create and dismantle First Nations stereotypes. Belmor e and Houle\, each in their own way\, utilize their own body and the perfor mance medium to delve into and explore colonialism and the social affects o f racial stereotyping.”
Anishinabe born Rebecca Belmore bases her pra ctice in Vancouver\, British Columbia. Since 1987\, her multi-disciplinary work has addressed history\, place and identity through the media of sculpt ure\, installation\, video and performance. Belmore was Canada's official r epresentative at the 2005 Venice Biennale.
Terrance Houle is an inter nationally recognized multi-disciplinary artist of Blood Tribe ancestry bas ed in Calgary\, Alberta. Houle studied at the Alberta College of Art & Desi gn earning a BFA in Fibre in 2003. In 2004\, his short\, The Wagon Burner\, won the Best Experimental Film Award at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Art s Festival in Toronto.
The Or Gallery is an artist-run centre committ ed to exhibiting work by local\, national\, and international artists whose art practice is of a critical\, conceptual and/or interdisciplinary nature . Since its inception in 1983 the gallery has acted as a laboratory for res earch\, proposition making\, conceptual experimentation and documentation.< /p>
The Or Gallery Society gratefully acknowledges the support of the Can ada Council\, the Province of BC through the BC Arts Council\, the City of Vancouver\, our members\, donors\, and volunteers. Or Gallery is a member o f the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres (PAARC).
Friend o r Foe is presented with support from the Killy Foundation\, the Alvin Balki nd Fund for Student Curatorial Initiatives\, the Morris and Helen Belkin Ar t Gallery\, and the Department of Art History\, Visual Art and Theory at Th e University of British Columbia.
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