CAUGHT IN COLLECTION

My path to making photographs in the charged contact zone of the museum began with an invitation from the T’xwelatse family to follow the repatriation of an ancient stone figure from the Burke Museum in Seattle. In the months after the repatriation, Stone T’xwelatse, considered a living ancestor of the Sto:lo people of British Columbia, was invited to the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver where he was welcomed as an honoured guest. One of the speakers at the welcoming ceremony was Sto:lo cultural leader Steven Point, the Lieutenant Governor of BC. In the middle of his speech, he paused and looked around.

“There is an obvious emotional feeling when you come into a room like this,” he said. “On the one hand, these items, these poles, were taken from the lands and the people. It is a sad feeling to see them standing here. On the other hand, if many of these pieces had not been collected they wouldn’t be here for us to enjoy them now. There is an inherent conflict in this building, it reflects the inherent conflict between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal since they began arriving in our homelands.”

His words stayed with me over the next two years as I visited the museum repeatedly in order to make photographs. As an immigrant to Canada, I have been drawn to explore the country’s contested history. Museums are flagship institutions of our society, both shaping and reflecting popular conceptions about the world and our place in it. When they house and interpret Aboriginal cultural property, they become flash points, potent reminders of the injustice of colonization. I found the museum staff keenly aware of this and actively working to redress the inherent power imbalance. I made these studies as a means of considering the knot that binds Aboriginal and newcomer together within the museum.

inagural exhibition
AXIS CONTEMPORARY ART
Art Central – #107, 100 7 Avenue SW, Calgary
T: 403-262-3356

Opening Reception: February 2, 5-8 pm
Artist Talk: February 5, 1 pm