Back Talk

2008

This publication documents an exhibition at Dunlop Art Gallery Sherwood Village Branch Gallery, June 9 to August 2, 2006. Works by KC Adams, Thirza Cuthand, Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan, Mary Kainer, Bonnie Marin, Adrian Stimson, and Elizabeth Vander Zaag were exhibited.

“Back talk is often defined as an insolent, impudent and defiant response to a powerful figure of authority. Yet, the ridicule and questioning of authority has historically ensured plurality and diversity within cultural narratives. Ironically, contemporary artists who resist dominate social discourses often present their work within the remnants of colonial discourses such as museums, libraries, and galleries. Surviving within the global corporatized cityscape, artists function in these pre-existing cultural spaces as social critics, with exaggeration, irony and satire as their medium to reveal what normally would be repressed in the public’s collective consciousness. In the exhibition Back Talk, the artists’ work subtly alters the perpetuation of political or cultural values imposed from above, often requiring the viewer to intellectually and physically participate and consider the meaning of the work for themselves.” Elizabeth Matheson

Curator: Elizabeth Matheson
Description: 2 pages, 14 colour images
Essay: Elizabeth Matheson
ISBN: 978-1-894882-32-3
Retail Price: $5.00