Youth Culture in the Eighties
Sonny Assu and Brendan Lee Satish Tang, "Layer/Lair/Liar," 2017
installation of various collaborative and solo works by the artists, wood paneling, carpet, electronic and household objects, and furniture, 8’ x 8’ x 20'
To say that Sonny Assu and Brendan Tang grew up in culturally diverse and difficult situations is an understatement. Raised in North Delta, in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, Assu believed he was one of the suburban white kids he played with until he was eight years old and discovered his Kwakwaka’wakw heritage. Tang was born in Ireland of Trinidadian parents, studied in the United States and Canada, and now is a Canadian citizen.
It should be no surprise then, that much of their work grapples with clashing cultures and ethnicities: Assu with his Indigenous roots and the impact of colonization; Tang with mash-ups of contemporary culture and art history through ceramics that bridge divisions between art and craft.
The two recently collaborated to explore youth culture at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, B.C. Their exhibition, Ready Player Two, on display until Sept. 3, focuses on places where Assu and Tang found sanctuary in their teens – the basement den, the kitchen, the arcade.
Brendan Lee Satish Tang and Sonny Assu, "Tabletop Commander," 2017
installation of various collaborative and solo works by the artists, wallpaper, vinyl flooring, kitchen and household objects, and furniture, 8.5' x 7' x 6'
The first gallery is a large installation with a kitchen theme that includes one of Assu’s cereal boxes, Lucky Beads, a spoof on General Mills’ Lucky Charms breakfast cereal. Hanging on the wall is one of his interventions, a painting from a yard sale or thrift shop with added Indigenous imagery – in this case a stylized ovoid shape.
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Sonny Assu, "SNIKT," 2017
acrylic paint, acrylic ink, acrylic medium and Marvel comic book pages on panel, 51" x 33" image and photo courtesy of the artist
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Sonny Assu, "C.O.D," 2017
acrylic paint, acrylic ink, acrylic medium and Marvel comic book pages on panel, 51" x 33" image and photo courtesy of the artist
Another gallery has a basement room with vintage furniture and an old television set that plays a looped video of shows from the 1980s. Some of the shows would be considered politically incorrect today. The stack of comics includes one titled Scalphunter. There are allusions to emerging computer games of the time, including a mock, hand-made Nintendo entertainment centre on the coffee table. A bowl of what appears to be Cheezies is actually composed of 42 handmade ceramic pieces.
The next gallery includes arcade references with two games from the same era. Again, brand names are parodied: one machine is called “Wreck-conciliation” and doesn’t work; the other is called “Broken Treaties” and is constructed of materials such as copper leaf and maple wood. Look carefully and you'll see that the computerized figure on the screen resembles Tang. Floating above is Tang’s sculptural object, Punching Clouds, which refers to a dated visual effects technique used in Green Screen gaming. It is suspended from the ceiling and casts puffy shadows on the gallery’s cement floor.
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Brendan Lee Satish Tang, “Manga Ormolu 5.0-q,” 2016
ceramic and mixed media, 24" x 11" x 11"
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Brendan Lee Satish Tang, “Manga Ormolu 4.0-x,” 2016
ceramic and mixed media, 22” x 16” x 12”
The exhibition also features other works by each artist. Included are the intriguing Manga Ormolu pieces, for which Tang is well known. These are often mutations: blue-and-white Ming-style vases melded with ceramic items ranging from robotic arms and legs to toy game pieces. All in all, Ready Player Two is a fascinating examination of dated male youth culture as filtered through the creative impulses of Assu and Tang.
The Reach Gallery Museum Abbotsford
32388 Veterans Way, Abbotsford, British Columbia V2T 0B3
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Open Tue to Fri 10 am - 5 pm, Thurs till 9 pm, Sat, Sun noon - 5 pm.
