Exhibition Highlights A behind-the-scenes look at some notable projects on view now
Mark is a series commenting on the endangered state of the natural world of Alaska and beyond. A mark is a visible impression or trace on something, such as a line, cut, dent, stain or bruise. In this series, I consider many different concepts. A mark on the land, or an imposed line, can lead us to discuss climate change, natural resource extraction, loss of culture and identity, Western notions of the desire to collect and commodify, relationships to land, harvesting and subsistence, sovereignty and many other ideas. There are country borders dividing us— lines that Indigenous people have crossed for millennia—but what does this line mean for the inhabitants and animals of these places? – Sonya Kelliher-Combs
This work is really in your face. It’s large and hard to ignore, which is just like a walrus. If you’ve ever seen one up close, you know that they own the place. They are beyond human scale. This kind of multimedia work is quite labour intensive but satisfying because you don’t have to lie. I don’t have to create shadow and depth because it has its own delimited space that it occupies. For this particular work, I wanted to make it feel like it was really coming out of the water. I think the overall aim of this exhibition is to show reverence and impact, without being overtly political about it. That said, this show will inevitably spark a lot of conversation, and I hope that people will be able to connect the dots without being spoon-fed a narrative. – Alvin Amason