[BCMA] Nanaimo Art Gallery: The Orchids / Had the Look of Flowers That Are Looked At

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Nanaimo Art Gallery

150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5G6, www.nanaimoartgallery.ca,
250.754.1750

Contact: Chris Kuderle (chrisk at nanaimogallery.ca)

For immediate release: *The Orchids / Had the Look of Flowers That Are
Looked At*



*​*

Image: Arvo Leo, *Vanda Orchid With Knives*, 2018, digital photograph



*The Orchids / Had the Look of Flowers That Are Looked At*

 An exhibition by Arvo Leo

Curated by Jesse Birch and Emma Sise



*Join us for the opening reception Friday, June 22 at 7 pm *



*June 23 to July 22, 2018*

Each species of orchid has cunningly evolved its appearance, and its
fragrance, to attract a specific pollinator to aid in sexual reproduction.
Yet somehow they also attract us, and our encounters with them have shaped
both botanical and human cultures. In Arvo Leo’s film *The Orchids / Had
the Look of Flowers That Are Looked At* these flowering plants assert their
agency in a human-centric world. Plants and films both need light and time
to exist, and through stop-motion animation, cyanotype photography, and
sculptural installation, orchids spring to life, meddling with the
environment they’re constrained to; frolicking, creating, and destroying
with self-determination and amusement.



The history of the orchid involves layers of colonialism, economic
activity, and cultural beliefs that intersect centuries and continents.
Arvo Leo has not only been engaged with these histories, but also with the
everyday relationships between orchids and people, tending daily to the
orchids in his studio, and actively participating as a member of the
Nederlandse Orchideeën Vereniging (Dutch Orchid Society). Leo has also made
connections in Nanaimo, and throughout the exhibition, living orchids will
be in the foyer of the gallery through a special collaboration between the
artist and the Central Vancouver Island Orchid Society.



Speaking of and with these wild domestic plants, The* Orchids* is the
second exhibition in a year in which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the
question:* How
can we speak differently?* through exhibitions, educational programs and
off-site events.



For*The Orchids*, we also present a series of public events called* The
Surroundings*, which includes a poetry reading at Buttertubs Marsh, and a
film screening at Bowen Park.



Arvo Leo grew up in Roberts Creek, BC, and carries a BFA from Emily Carr
University of Art and Design in Vancouver, and an MFA from the Piet Zwart
Institute in Rotterdam. He is currently enrolled as artist-in-residence at
the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Leo is also one of five artists from the
West Coast and Yukon to be longlisted for the 2018 Sobey Art Award.



Emma Sise's curatorial internship at Nanaimo Art Gallery is funded by an
Early Career Development grant through the British Columbia Arts Council.
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*Gallery Tours*



*Saturday, June 23, 2 pm, FREE*

Join us for a personal and engaged tour of *The Orchids / Had the Look of
Flowers That Are Looked At* with artist Arvo Leo.

*Tuesday, July 3, 12 to 1 pm, FREE*

Join Gallery staff over the lunch hour for a discussion based tour.
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