[BCMA] Media Release: Artist Re-contextualizes History Written by European Settlers Through a Contemporary Indigenous Lens.

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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release

March 8, 2016

Artist Re-contextualizes History Written by European Settlers Through a Contemporary Indigenous Lens.

Who: Presented by Vernon Public Art Gallery
What: Opening Reception: Mniku by Jordan Bennett
Where: The Vernon Public Art Gallery
When: Thursday March 17, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

The Board of Directors and Executive Director, Dauna Kennedy Grant, invite you and a guest to the opening reception of Mniku by Jordan Bennett at the Vernon Public Art Gallery. Enjoy an evening of music, contemporary art, locally crafted beer, wine, and appetizers.

"It is with great pleasure that the Vernon Public Art Gallery welcomes back Jordan Bennett for a solo exhibition which opens on March 17th.  We gained a glimpse into the contemporary format of this First Nations artist through a group exhibition that came through the VPAG titled Decolonize Me, bythe Ottawa Art Gallery. A mix of mediums and sound Mniku, Bennett's solo work, will provide us with an immersive experience while contemplating the various issues around indigenous art practices which are presented within this exhibition."

-Dauna Kennedy Grant, Executive Director

Jordan Bennett is a contemporary artist of Mi'kmaq descent currently based in Kelowna, British Columbia. His artistic production includes performance, drawing, painting, carving, video, and new media. His exhibition at the Vernon Public Art Gallery titled Mniku addresses a wide array of issues within contemporary indigenous discourses regarding history and indigenous artists' practices both contemporary and historical. The exhibition consist of paintings on carved yellow and red cedar and paintings on cradled panel surfaces, all accompanied by participatory sound installation. Additional suit of smaller paintings and drawings on paper document Bennett's creative process and development of abstract images leading to be executed in larger paintings.

The addition of sound components in the exhibition amplifies the viewer's experience and places him/her in the immersive environment and a time-based experience. The collection of over twenty particular sounds of various natural phenomena recorded in different location include the sounds of water of the ocean, crackling of fire, sounds recorded with microphone placed on the ground and ice, or hung in the trees. Bennett also recorded ambient sounds on different locations, including the hum of air conditioning while observing the drawings at The Rooms collections and archives. Sound is a time-based phenomenon and has a duration which the visitors traversing the gallery space experience. Bennett's orchestration and placement of motion sensors in the gallery space trigger different sound sequences according to the viewers' navigation of the gallery space. These sound sequences create a combination of specific sound 'narratives' while viewing the visual components of the exhibition.

Jordan Bennett's exhibition titled Mniku re-contextualizes history written by European settlers in the past through a contemporary indigenous lens.

Photo credit: Jordan Bennett: Hunt Guide In Red Cedar, 2015, wood and acrylic, 12 x 12 x 2 in


Laura Ashton
Marketing and Programming Coordinator

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