Thursday, July 26, 2018 - 6 to 8 PM
In partnership with Land InSight, master coordinator of the Montreal First Peoples Festival, La Guilde invites you to the opening of Sonny Assu: A Selective Story. From July 26 to November 24, 2018, this exhibition showcases ten works in total from two important series of his most recent productions: #NeverIdle and Interventions on the Imaginary. The corpus of artworks exhibited thus represents five years of creations. This event will mark La Guilde’s first collaboration with the artist, as well as his first solo exhibition in Montreal since 2016.
Sonny Assu is known for his esthetic interventions which call to mind tags (graffiti); boasting abstract and ovoidal shapes, they are distinctive of Northwest coast iconography, acting as a claim to First Nations cultures, despite Canada’s repeated efforts to assimilate such cultures. Also known for his sense of humour and his subversive works, the artist bases his practice on the exploration of consumption, colonization and imperialism.
ABOUT SONNY ASSU
Multidisciplinary artist born in 1975 in North Delta, British Columbia, Sonny Assu only discovered his Liǥwildaʼx̱w / Kwakwaka’wakw heritage at the age of eight years old. A crucial revelation which will several years later become the esthetic starting point of his artistic practice. Having grown up in suburbia, Sonny Assu was from a tender age fully immersed in pop culture. In his work, one can denote references to graffiti, to science fiction series, and to new technologies. His artwork, halfway between tradition and modernity, creates a dialogue on the exploration of consumption, colonization and imperialism. Through disillusioned humour, he explores his own family history, while attempting to highlight Canada’s shadowy past with regards to its relations with First Nations peoples.
Photos: OPENING | SONNY ASSU: A selective history, 2018. © La Guilde
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