Generous Review of my Toronto show
Nicholas Galanin at Toronto Free Gallery
Until Dec. 18, 1277 Bloor St. W., Toronto; torontofreegallery.org
If Nicholas Galanin’s work in First Law of Motion (a survey of recent projects curated by Wanda Nanibush) reminds you of the art of Kent Monkman or Brian Jungen, you’re not alone. Nor does that twinkle of recognition detract from Galanin’s particular sparkle.
Part of a generation of aboriginal artists whose work conflates pre-European invasion tropes with contemporary, post-everything culture, the Alaska-based multimedia whiz loves to jump up and down on the (questionable to begin with) boundaries.
To wit, observe his series of dance masks made from shredded Bibles, or his assemblage of carved masks and a canoe paddle blended with cheesy toile de Jouy wallpaper. Even more blunt is Galanin’s role-reverse video, wherein a ceremonial dancer, in full cape and mask regalia, dances to an electro soundtrack and, topsy-turvy, a hip-hop dancer pops and locks to a sacred drum composition.
I hesitate to impose an agenda on this work, but it does appear to call for a new synthesis of aboriginal and post-colonial cultures; one that values blending at least as much as preservationist gestures. But I’m not aboriginal, so I’ll leave that to the experts.
Galanin’s skillful exploration of new possibilities between cultures, however, is as undeniably playful as it is testing.
From Saturday’s Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/rm-vaughan/pecs-and-pizza-dough/article2258132/
