Experience Exhibitions Space Fiction & the Archives

Space Fiction & the Archives

8 April 2017 – 1 October 2017

Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn: Space Fiction & the Archives

April 8 to October 1, 2017
Opening reception and artist walkthrough | Friday, April 7, 2017 | 7:00 PM

Space Fiction & the Archives transports the viewer to the small town of St. Paul, Alberta, in 1967. The exhibition presents a short film titled 1967: A People Kind of Place and an archive of various documents and artifacts (some reproduced) that serve as markers for artist Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn’s thoughtful exploration of immigration reform in Canada.

Canada’s centenary was a time of unparalleled optimism as the country unveiled ambitious projects showcasing its culture and history to the world. One of these projects was the construction of the world’s first “UFO Landing Pad” that was built in St. Paul. This curious construction was proclaimed a “symbol of Western hospitality” by Paul Hellyer then Minister of National Defence. This monument for hospitality becomes a focal point for the artist’s investigation of significant changes in Canadian immigration regulations at the time.

Space Fiction & the Archives looks macroscopically at a space of incongruities and optimism from where a new vocabulary around belonging and co-existence, and the will to imagine a different geography of encounters, can emerge.

nguyen headshot

nguyen headshot

Biography

Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn is a research-based artist currently living and working in Stockholm, Sweden. Nguyễn works with a broad range of media, including printmaking, sound, and video installation. Through her investigations of feminist theory, multiculturalism, collectivity, and utopian politics, Nguyễn illuminates seemingly insignificant stories in order to underline the political relevance of otherwise marginalized or forgotten histories.

Born in Montreal, Nguyễn received her BFA from Concordia University (2003) before earning her MFA and a post-graduate diploma in Critical Studies from the Malmö Art Academy, Sweden (2005). In 2011, she completed the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program. She is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including the Swedish Research and Development Fellowship in the Arts (2007), Iaspis (Swedish Arts Grants Committee) (2010), Brenda and Jamie Mackie Fellowships for Visual Artists from the Banff Centre (2012), and Council for the Arts Production Grants (2012). Nguyễn’s work has been widely exhibited in group shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (2011); Apexart, New York (2013); PAVED arts, Saskatoon (2013); Or Gallery, Vancouver (2013); MTL BNL, Montreal (2014); and A Space, Toronto (2014); and in recent solo exhibitions at VOX: Centre de l’image contemporaine, Montreal (2012); Kunstverein Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany (2013); Momenta Art, Brooklyn (2014); MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), Montreal (2014); and The New Gallery, Calgary (2015).

Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn . Photo: Nguyen Dac Minh

In the News

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School Tours

MacKenzie School Tours are an exciting opportunity for students and educators to discover and explore Saskatchewan’s largest public art gallery. Designed to support provincial curricula, MacKenzie School Tours offer a two hour, hands-on learning experience complete with a guided tour and interactive studio activities.

This spring, the Gallery invites you to explore a unique combination of exhibitions. Our interactive gallery tours will include an investigation of the artwork of contemporary Indigenous artist Alex Janvier, as well as the artwork of Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn, to challenge perspectives on Canadian identity as it relates to several current societal issues. Read more…

Reserve your tour online today! 

Images:

Greetings from St. Paul, 2012. diptych inkjet prints on archival paper, 48 x 74 x 2.5 cm / each. Courtesy of the artist

Slide, 2012. lightbox, 93 x 93 x 17.5 cm. View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist.

View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist

View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist

View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist

Invitation to Canada & The Last Good Year, 2012, mixed media, 5.5 x 44 x 31.5 cm. View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist

1967: A People Kind of Place, 2012, Super 8, 16mm and 35mm films transferred to SD video, 19 minutes 11 seconds. View of the exhibition Space Fiction & the Archives, VOX, from November 2 to December 15, 2012. Credit: Michel Brunelle. Courtesy of the artist

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