An art exhibition exploring the ways colonization has influenced First Nations identity is opening soon at the Gallery at Queen’s Park.
Manuel Axel Strain’s Mutations runs at the Arts Council of New Westminster’s gallery from Feb. 7 to 25. An opening reception is set for Wednesday, Feb. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m., and an artist talk is on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.
Strain is an interdisciplinary artist of Coast Salish, Secwepemc and Okanagan descent, who was raised in Maple Ridge with little knowledge of what it meant to be of First Nations descent.
“This upbringing led Strain to examine the construction of First Nations identities – in particular the internal conflicts that arise from imposed identity constructs,” a press release says. “His practice confronts the legacies of colonization that have been left upon the identities of the First Nations people of Canada.”
Strain uses painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and video installation to explore post-colonial notions of hybridity, assimilation, cultural appropriation, self-determination and resistance.
“His purpose is to redefine his indigeneity and break the cycle of inaccurate generalizations. His goal is to move beyond the binary opposition of the colonizer and the colonized to establish new ontologies for the First Nations identity,” the release says.
The Gallery at Queen’s Park is open Wednesdays from 1 to 8 p.m., and Thursdays through Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. See www.artscouncilnewwest.org for details.
