Plain text didactics
Plains Horizon
Lori Blondeau
Before the ground was broken to make way for The Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery, Lori Blondeau collected 100 stones of various sizes from the xeriscape garden that previously occupied the site of the new gallery, using them as the conceptual ground for this intricate, personal, and responsive installation. Blondeau often collects stones as a form of research, using them as symbolic means of accumulating knowledge about the histories and peoples of a place. Her use of stone as a medium is multifarious in meaning that, first and foremost, forms a connectedness to Indigenous ways of life and land. And, as part of Plains Horizon, the artist uses these stones, which she refers to as Grandfather Stones, to stabilize and acknowledge the critical role her family has played as community leaders, activists, educators, and artists in sustaining Indigenous knowledge.
The exhibition is an elaborate stage for a watercolour by her mother, Leona Blondeau (née Bird), from 1949, made while she attended the the Muscowequan Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan. The work was given to Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in 1950, acknowledging the School’s transition from Catholic rule to Indigenous leadership. Seven decades later, the work was gifted back to the artist’s mother, in November 2021. The placement of her family members within an installation that carries the signifiers of a palatial drawing room is the setting in which Blondeau embeds her personal narrative within shards of colonial opulence through parody, but, also, with a rightful declaration of presence. In honour of her family, Blondeau choreographed a special performance with guest dancer Bill Coleman for the opening night.
Curated by Jenifer Papararo.
Exhibition facilitation and production supported by Clara Halpern and Michael Maranda with art installation team for opening exhibitions Uroš Jelić (lead), Phu Bui, Corinne Carlson, Christian Echeverri, Matthew Koudys, Nykyta Kuzmicz, Nadine Maher, Jordan May, Manny Trinh.