Marianne Nicolson:
Projects Completed
Gallery2, Grand Forks, B.C. (February 08- April 19, 2014)
"Foolmakers in the Setting Sun" & "Carnival/Carnivore: China, Canada, British Columbia & the United States"
Carved glass and moving light installation. This work questions the intelligence of the Alberta tarsands development and the complex relationships being negotiated by China, Canada and British Columbia over the extraction, transportation and consumption of bitumen. The term "setting sun" refers to the state of the planet due to global warming and the inevitability of environmental disaster as nations continue to privilege profits over conservation and environmental protection. In the long run, however, even the economics do not make sense, hence the term "foolmakers" which in Dzawada'enuxw culture are the children of the children of the ghosts and shown as part of a ceremonial called 'tukwid. The light projection mimics this performance.
The painted component of this exhibition involves a large scale painting which visually references the Canadian national flag in its overall composition. The outside red panels are reworked into representations of the Chinese national flag with black sea otters. The centre panel is a re-working of the British Columbia provincial flag. The sun which traditionally symbolizes the colonial idea that "the sun never sets on Britain" is reworked into a Kwakwaka'wakw sun which bows its' head under the weight of the crown and sorrowfully holds onto a copper shield representing the land. The dates 1992-2012 are referenced as a lament for the current British Columbia Treaty Process which has largely been a failure. The large "Canadian" work faces a smaller "American" work which references historical relationships to America and its capitalist influence.
Canadian Embassy, Amman Jordan (May 2014)
"A Precarious State" 200cm (approx. 6') x 1201cm (approx. 35')
Carved and lit site specific glass installation for the new Canadian Embassy in Amman, Jordan. The work depicts a submerging killer whale with various conflicted characters riding upon its back. The whale is a metaphor for "the State" and the title is a pun on the ideas of "nation state" and "condition". The whale appears to be in danger of being unable to continue its course due to the heavy burden of competing characters which ride upon its back. In one interpretation the whale can could be considered the Canadian landscape, which has been burdened by a Canadian "state" which has set its own course on the premise of "massive resource extraction". However , the work is not limited to this single reading but can be extended to the conflicted nature of all political states, be they in the Middle East or even First Nations notions of "nationhood" which have been under constant conflicted negotiation, particularly heightened since contact with Europeans.
YVR, The Vancouver International Airport (August 2014)
"Memorial/Monument for the Dalles" approx. 26'h x 5'w x 20'l
Lit glass and cedar installation which acts as a memorial/monument to the Columbia and Fraser/Thompson Rivers. This work deals with the issue of dams and the health of river systems. It contrasts the history of the Columbia which has been dammed 14 times on its main line and the Fraser/Thompson which has never been dammed on its main line. It memorializes the flooding of Celilo Falls, the "oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent until 1957, when it was submerged by the construction of the Dalles Dam" on the Columbia River.
"Pauline" City Opera Vancouver, written by Margaret Atwood, composed by Tobin Stokes (May 2014)
Set Design/Media Work Component coreographed with Mohawk artist Lindsay Delaronde
Set design and media projection compliment for the opera "Pauline" depicting the Mohawk poet's final days. This work will draw upon the complexities of Pauline Johnson as a Canadian national literary icon and her heritage as 1/2 Mohawk and 1/2 English.
Projects Completed
Gallery2, Grand Forks, B.C. (February 08- April 19, 2014)
"Foolmakers in the Setting Sun" & "Carnival/Carnivore: China, Canada, British Columbia & the United States"
Carved glass and moving light installation. This work questions the intelligence of the Alberta tarsands development and the complex relationships being negotiated by China, Canada and British Columbia over the extraction, transportation and consumption of bitumen. The term "setting sun" refers to the state of the planet due to global warming and the inevitability of environmental disaster as nations continue to privilege profits over conservation and environmental protection. In the long run, however, even the economics do not make sense, hence the term "foolmakers" which in Dzawada'enuxw culture are the children of the children of the ghosts and shown as part of a ceremonial called 'tukwid. The light projection mimics this performance.
The painted component of this exhibition involves a large scale painting which visually references the Canadian national flag in its overall composition. The outside red panels are reworked into representations of the Chinese national flag with black sea otters. The centre panel is a re-working of the British Columbia provincial flag. The sun which traditionally symbolizes the colonial idea that "the sun never sets on Britain" is reworked into a Kwakwaka'wakw sun which bows its' head under the weight of the crown and sorrowfully holds onto a copper shield representing the land. The dates 1992-2012 are referenced as a lament for the current British Columbia Treaty Process which has largely been a failure. The large "Canadian" work faces a smaller "American" work which references historical relationships to America and its capitalist influence.
Canadian Embassy, Amman Jordan (May 2014)
"A Precarious State" 200cm (approx. 6') x 1201cm (approx. 35')
Carved and lit site specific glass installation for the new Canadian Embassy in Amman, Jordan. The work depicts a submerging killer whale with various conflicted characters riding upon its back. The whale is a metaphor for "the State" and the title is a pun on the ideas of "nation state" and "condition". The whale appears to be in danger of being unable to continue its course due to the heavy burden of competing characters which ride upon its back. In one interpretation the whale can could be considered the Canadian landscape, which has been burdened by a Canadian "state" which has set its own course on the premise of "massive resource extraction". However , the work is not limited to this single reading but can be extended to the conflicted nature of all political states, be they in the Middle East or even First Nations notions of "nationhood" which have been under constant conflicted negotiation, particularly heightened since contact with Europeans.
YVR, The Vancouver International Airport (August 2014)
"Memorial/Monument for the Dalles" approx. 26'h x 5'w x 20'l
Lit glass and cedar installation which acts as a memorial/monument to the Columbia and Fraser/Thompson Rivers. This work deals with the issue of dams and the health of river systems. It contrasts the history of the Columbia which has been dammed 14 times on its main line and the Fraser/Thompson which has never been dammed on its main line. It memorializes the flooding of Celilo Falls, the "oldest continuously inhabited community on the North American continent until 1957, when it was submerged by the construction of the Dalles Dam" on the Columbia River.
"Pauline" City Opera Vancouver, written by Margaret Atwood, composed by Tobin Stokes (May 2014)
Set Design/Media Work Component coreographed with Mohawk artist Lindsay Delaronde
Set design and media projection compliment for the opera "Pauline" depicting the Mohawk poet's final days. This work will draw upon the complexities of Pauline Johnson as a Canadian national literary icon and her heritage as 1/2 Mohawk and 1/2 English.
