Adel Abidin\, Abb as Akhavan\, A.S. Dhillon\, Josephine Meckseper\, Martha Rosler\, Gail Wigh t and Retort
shrink-wrapped considers how a group of artists and intellectuals have responded to images of war and the image-world lead ing up to and since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Sourced from the flow of media imagery\, much of the work in the exhibition isolates and re-contextu alizes content. Images which are not intended to be looked at closely are p aused. Through their work\, the artists disrupt imagery which replaces that of defeat with victory\, creates desires with promises of newfangled fulfi llment\, and teaches acceptance rather than assessment.
In the works in the exhibition\, representations of the occupation and previous wars are conflated in varying ways with those of archival and current protest foota ge as well as those from the commodity and luxury culture industry. Through the surfaces of travel brochures\, montages\, photomontages\, and broadsid es\, the works communicate boldly and graphically\, like those of agitprop. Functioning also as objects in circulation\, each work actively engages wi th issues of dissemination\, distribution\, and display.
Included in the exhibition are Adel Abidin’s brochure installation from Abidin Trav els (2006)\; Josephine Meckseper’s two video works March for Peace \, Justice and Democracy\, 4/29/06\, New York City (2007) and 0% D own (2008)\; a selection of photomontages from Martha Rosler’s Bri nging the War Home: House Beautiful\, new series (2004)\; Gail Wight a nd Retort’sAfflicted Powers project (2006)\; and new works by loca l artists Abbas Akhavan and A.S. Dhillon.
The publication accompanyin g the exhibition additionally features an essay by Sara Mameni. Following t he strategy of using extant information as material\, Mameni reuses the foo tnotes from Retort's “Modernity and Terror” to generate a new text.
T his exhibition is curated by Alison Rajah\, a candidate to the Masters Degree in Critical Curatorial Studies at The University of Bri tish Columbia\, with support from the Killy Foundation\, the Alvin Balkind Fund for Student Curatorial Initiatives\, the Department of Art History\, V isual Art and Theory\, the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery\, the Progra m in Canadian Studies\, and the Finance Commission and the Alma Mater Socie ty at The University of British Columbia. The Or Gallery gratefully acknowl edges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts\, the British Columbia Arts Council\, the City of Vancouver\, our members\, donors\, and voluntee rs. The Or Gallery is a member of the Pacific Association of Artist-Run Cen tres [PAARC].
Image: Gail Wight and Retort\, video still from Aff licted Powers\, 2006. Broadsides\, video\, dimensions variable. Courte sy of Gail Wight.
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