Canadiana

January 25 – June 14, 2014

We live in a country as beautiful as it is harsh. The landscape is vast and varied, the weather fickle and fierce. As Canadians, we pride ourselves on our ability to endure these conditions; but what does it mean to be Canadian? How can we acknowledge the complexities of our relationship to this land, and its history, as Indigenous people, settlers, and immigrants?

Inspired by Diana Thorneycroft’s series of photographs Group of Seven Awkward Moments, Canadiana is both a celebration and examination of our country’s landscape, and its implicit role in shaping our identity as Canadians. Canadiana brings together real and imagined images of the Canadian landscape by Canadian artists from the MacKenzie’s permanent collection including: Augustus Kenderdine, Dorothy Knowles, and Ernest Luthi among others.

Visitors are invited to contribute to this exhibition and explore these questions by creating their own dioramas in response to Thorneycroft’s work and studio practice. Using props the artist has collected, you may construct your own version of Canada and photograph it using your personal device or the iPad provided to participate in our virtual exhibition!

Organized by the MacKenzie Art Gallery

Click here to view the latest edition of At the MacKenzie and see what is happening from January through April.

Image: Diana Thorneycroft, Group of Seven Awkward Moments: Summer (Grey Owl and Anahareo at Beaver Swamp), 2007 chromogenic print on paper, edition 5 of 12, 25 x 34 cm, Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, gift of Michael Boss