Catalogue Launch: Noise Ghost and Other Stories

Friday, April 8, 2016, 6-8pm

Noise Ghost and Other Stories documents a trilogy of exhibitions independently curated by Nancy Campbell and held at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery between 2009 and 2012. This series of exhibitions Campbell curated for the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery – Noise Ghost: Shuvinai Ashoona and Shary Boyle (2009), Scream: Ed Pien and Samonie Toonoo (2010) and Blue Cloud: Jack Bush and Ohotaq Mikkigak (2012) – was built on the premise of showing the work of contemporary Inuit and Southern artists on an equal footing. In each exhibition, an artist from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) was paired with a Southern counterpart on the basis of a certain synergy of artistic interests. This unique approach made it possible to achieve new insights into the stimuli and resources that produce artistic manifestations. By positioning contemporary Southern and Inuit artwork together, ideas of what is contemporary or Inuit is put into question, offering viewers the opportunity to see the work of Inuit artists in new contexts, and to confront assumptions not only of what Inuit art should and can be, but also our understanding of the contemporary art produced in the South.

Inuit art has a unique and controversial history within Canadian art; established as an industry to produce art objects that would be vetted via cooperatives or producer divisions and sold to white consumers in the South. As a result, Inuit art continues to be understood as a self-contained genre, segregated from mainstream contemporary art on the basis of many ingrained prejudices. Produced within this specific sociopolitical framework, the contributions of Inuit artists are often seen as entirely distinct from art in the South. Rather than legitimated as an authentic art practice and integrated with other contemporary work, with rare exception, Canadian museums have allocated specific areas within their buildings for the presentation of Inuit art.

The richly illustrated 60-page catalogue, Noise Ghost and Other Stories, includes an introduction by Barbara Fischer, Executive Director/Curator of the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, and an essay on each of the three exhibitions by curator and author Nancy Campbell.