Brett Graham: Pioneer

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Brett Graham, "Pioneer," 2015

installation at First Nations University of Canada as part of "Performing Turtle Island," 2015. Photo: Eagleclaw Thom

Related Events: Fall Exhibition Reception and Celebration | Friday, September 29, 2017

5:30 PM | Welcoming Performance with community barbeque to follow

7:30 PM | Welcoming Remarks and announcement of Transformative Landscapes final design

8:00 PM | Reception and Exhibition Viewing 

This fall, the MacKenzie continues its lineup of programming for Transformative Landscapes with Pioneer by New Zealand artist Brett Graham. Pioneer considers the prairies as an ocean and the tide of settlers as a flood that overwhelmed and devastated the Plains First Nations. A hybrid sculpture approximating a life-sized prairie grain wagon, the work was inspired by the artist’s reading of Regina author James Daschuk’s best-selling Clearing the Plains (University of Regina Press), a book which describes, in chilling detail, the politics of ethnocide by which the Canadian plains were cleared for settlement. The artwork gives form to the lingering racism and misunderstanding that permeates the national consciousness to this day. Pioneer is a promised donation by the artist to the MacKenzie’s Permanent Collection.

“Brett’s piece was done in response to James Daschuk’s Clearing the Plains, and the impact of colonization on Indigenous populations – first through the spread of diseases, whether it was by contact or intentional, then later government policies that were put in place to eradicate the population of their food sources,” says Michelle LaVallee, the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Curator. “The implications of those attitudes and policies resonate today and influence assumptions and values that are meant to positively guide our society and the actions of those given power over others — but instead — have had devastating e ects on Indigenous lives. Inthe context of Transformative Landscapes and intercultural relations, this exhibition is happening while the country is given pause to think about these things on the occasion of Canada 150 — as we look back at where we have come from, contemplate what Canada is today and, most importantly, where it is going.”

While at the MacKenzie, Pioneer will be presented alongside Winnipeg artist Je Funnell’s Notes from the Inquest, which opens on September 30.

“Brett Graham is one of New Zealand’s leading contemporary artists and sculptors, so it’s an important and rare opportunity to present a large-scale work by a Maori artist in Canada,”

says Anthony Kiendl, the MacKenzie Art Gallery’s Executive Director and CEO. “We’re pleased that this major work of art by a leading international artist has been promised as a gift to our permanent collection. The MacKenzie continues to build our burgeoning international reputation as a leader in Indigenous art.”