OFFSITE: KEN LUM
January 23 to September 6, 2010
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1100 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6E 0A8  Heather and Ivan Morison October 2, 2010 to March 6, 2011
Heather and Ivan Morison
Drawings for Offsite proposal (2010)  Ken Lum January 23 to September 6, 2010
Ken Lum from shangri-la to shangri-la, 2010 site-specific installation Photo: Trevor Mills and Rachel Topham  O Zhang July 20 to January 3, 2010
Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite
O Zhang Horizon (Sky) [detail], 2009 photographic print on vinyl, series of 6 Photo: Henri Robideau |
The Vancouver Art Gallery launched its new outdoor exhibition space, Offsite, with a site-specific installation by Chinese artist O Zhang from July 20 to November 29, 2009. Offering a rotating program of innovative public art projects by local and international contemporary artists, the new exhibition space in the downtown core will allow artists to explore and respond to Vancouver’s unique urban environment. Located at the base of the Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver near the intersection of Georgia and Thurlow streets, Offsite will present new projects organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery every six months, funded by the City of Vancouver through the Public Art Program. “Offsite allows the Vancouver Art Gallery to expand its dynamic contemporary art program beyond the walls of the building to engage an even broader audience in new and exciting ways,” said Kathleen Bartels, director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. "In this new dynamic space, we will present a wide range of inspiring and provocative work, from photography and sculpture to video and installation, allowing thousands of passersby to encounter the creations of internationally acclaimed artists on a daily basis.” The first artwork to be presented at Offsite was O Zhang’s major photographic installation Horizon (Sky). For this project, the artist returned to the rural area of her youth in central China to photograph the young village girls who live there. Posing in front of a camera for the first time, the children stare into the lens, returning the gaze of the viewer—unabashed, bold and powerful—while the vibrant colour of the blue sky behind them evokes thoughts of hope and possibility. Enlarged to monumental proportions, the images of the young girls, each photographed on a country hillside, are presented with a strength and individuality not commonly represented in popular media. Zhang’s images suggest a positive vision of the future of China and the role that women might play in its transformation, a role that is simultaneously embraced by the artist herself. For his sculptural installation from shangri-la to shangri-la at Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite, artist Ken Lum constructed scale replicas of three squatter’s shacks from North Vancouver’s Maplewood Mudflats settlement. Lum recreated the cabins of renowned writer Malcolm Lowry, artist Tom Burrows and Greenpeace leader Dr. Paul Spong. Propped up on stilts over the surface of the Offsite reflecting pool, the huts strike a sharp contrast with the surrounding downtown architecture. Located at the foot of the Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver’s tallest building, these structures evoked the character of the mudflat community and draw attention to the advance of urban development in the Lower Mainland. Heather and Ivan Morison explore architecture as it relates to ideas of fantasy, escape, shelter and refuge. For Offsite, they have created a pavilion which hovers between sculpture and architecture. The walls lean outward towards the street, as if they are peeling away from the site. The interior structure is raised above the water, propped up by crossing diagonal supports, and the roof is open to the sky. The walls are made of heavy timber beams, burnt to a dark charcoal using a Japanese technique for preserving and protecting wood from the elements called shou-sugi-ban. The blackened structure evokes a distopic narrative as if it is built upon the ruins of a desolated city charred by the scorching sun of an apocalyptic future. Offsite: O Zhang is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Daina Augaitis, chief curator/associate director. Offsite is funded by the City of Vancouver through the Public Art Program. The Gallery recognizes Ian Gillespie, president, Westbank Projects Inc., Ben Yeung, president, Peterson Investment Group and the residents at Shangri-La for their support of this project. Offsite: Ken Lum is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and funded by the City of Vancouver through the Public Art Program. This project is supported by Ian Gillespie, President, Westbank; Ben Yeung, President, Peterson Investment Group; and the residents at Shangri-La. The Gallery deeply appreciates support for Offsite: Ken Lum from the Michael O'Brian Family Foundation. Offsite Ken Lum project is curated by Grant Arnold, Audain Curator of British Columbia Art. Offsite: Heather and Ivan Morison is organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and funded by the City of Vancouver through the Public Art Program. The Gallery recognizes Ian Gillespie, President, Westbank; Ben Yeung, President, Peterson Investment Group; and the residents at Shangri-La for their support of this space. This project is made possible by an in–kind donation from ParkLane Homes. Offsite: Heather and Ivan Morison is curated by Kathleen Ritter, associate curator. |
