Indigenous artists who have grown up in era of social media, designer handbags, super heroes, and Andy Warhol are taking on popular culture in a new show at SAW Gallery.
NEON NDN: Indigenous Pop Art features installations, drawings, and sculptures from 20 contemporary Indigenous artists from across Canada and New Zealand.
Vintage plastic figurines surround a drum in Alison Bremner’s Cowboys ‘n Indians. (Alison Bremner)
It’s art infused with a sense of fun and irony, as artists deliver their often witty observations on the crossroads between popular culture and Indigenous identity.
Steven Paul Judd imagines General Custer’s Facebook page before his ‘last stand’ at Little Big Horn. (Sandra Abma )
“This exhibition is really an embrace of popular culture,” said curator Jocelyn Piirainen, “I found that a lot of the artists have fused traditional styles of Indigenous art with popular culture artists. For the most part, it’s a lot of fun.”
Curator Jocelyn Piirainen holds Kent Monkman’s Louis Vuitton Quiver. (Sandra Abma)
By repurposing found objects like children’s toys or skateboards, or imagining General George Custer’s Facebook page on the eve of his disastrous campaign at Little Big Horn, Piirainen said “Indigenous artists challenge a number of stereotypes and Hollywood tropes that have been set against Indigenous people and culture.”
Super Phat Nish from Barry Ace , a band member of M’Chigeeng First Nation who currently lives in Ottawa. (Sandra Abma)
The exhibition is part of the Asinabka Film, Media and Arts Festival, a four-day celebration of contemporary Indigenous creativity taking place at locations throughout Ottawa.
Curator Jocelyn Piirainen looks up at Circonvolution, Circonlocution, Ludovic Boney’s giant wooden sculpture. (Sandra Abma)
NEON NDN: Indigenous Pop Art opens Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at SAW Gallery, 67 Nicholas St. Music will be provided by Dio Ganhdih, The Gentlemen Soundgoods, The Handsome Savages, Lyle Odjick, Ziibiwan Rivers, Silla + Rise, and VJ Paradise.
The exhibition runs until Sept. 24, 2016.
Detail from installation Eskimo Kissing Booth by performance and video artist Tanya Lukin Linklater. (Tanya Lukin Linklater)