June 2018
#146

In our summer issue, Border Crossings embraces a spirit of ambiguity, taking a look at artists that blur boundaries and occupy interstitial spaces.

In our interviews, Border Crossings features Canadian-born New York based sculptor Erin Shirreff. Shirreff’s body of work is diverse and includes photography, video and sculptural works. She explores the ways we experience 3-dimensional form in a world that is largely consumed by the 2-dimensional image. She looks at objects and their representations and magnifies their materiality through image making. By blurring the distinction between image and object, Shirreff questions our own reliance on the visual image.

We also feature the talented young Canadian Indigenous artist, Meryl McMaster. As a member of the Plains Cree nation with European ancestry, McMaster creates enigmatic photographs that explore the complexities of her Indigenous-settler identity. Her performed photographs are highly enigmatic and are not about anything immediately recognizable but they pair myth and narration in a highly poetic, ambiguous way to encourage a range of possible narratives. McMaster presents herself in nature and sees the landscape as an integral part of her cultural context. Her images are captivating and unsettling; she is both a bearer of light and harbinger of darker recognitions.

In this issue we also feature a beguiling portfolio of drawings by Canadian artist Jeff Ladouceur. His meticulously drafted, motley little drawings evoke a distinct mixture of humour and melancholy and his accompanying text is a delight.

In our articles section, Emily Doucet looks at “The Many-Tiered Art of Allison Katz” in “Synthetic Deconstruction.” Karen Moe discusses political art with Mexican American artists Ray Smith and GT Pellizzi and revolutionary Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros, the once leader of the Mexican communist party. And John G Hampton takes on the controversial work Jimmie Durham, looking here at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon, the only Canadian venue for this large traveling exhibition.

The Crossovers include reviews on Peter Hujar, Gordon Smith, Nicholas Crombach, Gary Pearson, Steven Beckly, Eve K Tremblay, Nicolas Sassoon, Jay Isaac, Bev Pike, “The Sunshine Eaters,” the Dhaka Art Summit 2018, and the exhibitions, “Frontera: Views of the U.S.- Mexico Border,” and “Greystone: Tools for Understanding the City.”

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