The 2007 SPACE MISSION:
COMING SOON!!!
The 2006 McCleave Lineage Tour:
(Click HERE to view the Lineage tour BLOG!)
In
February 2006, The McCleave Gallery of Fine Art Lineage Tour
2006 was launched in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There the McCleave
suitcase filled with 17 selected artist’s books began a series of
small scheduled shows and gatherings at the Anchor Archive Regional
Zine Project, the Khyber Midwinter Craft Fair, and the eyelevel
re-shelving initiative 2 (not to mention the usual numerous surprise
public viewings). This began a multi-faceted performance-curatorial project
involving a residency at the This Neck of the Woods artist-in-residence
program in Rotterdam, group exhibitions at the Foreman Gallery
in Lennoxville and the Invisible inc. Reading Room in various
locations in Australia, and a series of interactive public suitcase interventions
in various cities and towns in the United Kingdom.
Maintaining
our mandate of providing an exhibition space for emerging artists in a
relaxed and accessible venue that can be conveniently delivered to the
viewer has been challenged by the nomadic lifestyle that we have adopted
for the McCleave Gallery during the past two exhibition seasons. Remaining
nomadic simultaneously gives us opportunities to connect with artists
from a variety of locations, while creating a vessel to link each isolated
community across Canada and now overseas.
Our 2005 exhibition season titled The McCleave Gallery Cross-Canada
Suitcase Tour involved traveling from Halifax to Dawson City exhibiting
the works of 14 Canadian artists who’s work responded to the theme
of ‘trade and exchange’. The 2006 season we see as a continuation
of this project extending this further to the concept of ‘Lineage’.
The 18 artist’s works on exhibition in the suitcase gallery responds
to the new theme ‘lineage’. The directors of the McCleave
Gallery have traveled from Halifax, Nova Scotia (where the suitcase originated)
to Ireland and the UK in an attempt to trace back the lineage of the McCleave
family. Re-visiting these themes has given us a new omni-directional perspective
on current issues such as colonialism, immigration, nomadic living, and
tourism to name few.
Like many other young Canadian backpacker/tourists who travel to Western
Europe (as well as many other places) to ‘find their roots’,
the McCleave Gallery is fortunate to have the luxury to travel to a variety
of places to experience where it has come from. Although the McCleave
Gallery is still relatively limited financially, we are fortunately able
to give back to the communities that we visit in ways that are not necessarily
dependant on monetary exchange. The McCleave suitcase gallery has continued
to offer audiences throughout Québec, Atlantic Canada, the Netherlands,
Australia the UK and Ireland a chance to explore the many ways that these
artists have responded to our theme in a setting that is intimate, personal
and spontaneous.
Checkpoint:
To accompany the 2006 McCleave Lineage Tour, a limited edition of 200
sets of 6 postcards have been made, each with an image of the McCleave
suitcase gallery with it’s attendant standing in front of various
relevant monumental structures to the concept of the lineage tour. The
background images were found from a Canadian encyclopedia published in
1956 by the Grolier Society of Canada Ltd. with the gallery attendant
with suitcase in hand pasted into the foreground. Over the following spring
tour, as the McCleave Gallery completed it’s voyage to the Netherlands,
Ireland, and the UK, as the suitcase gallery visited each of the 6 locations,
they have been marked as a ‘checkpoint’, further examining
the motives behind what these monuments mean to tourists and to travelers
as they collect an abundance of these images from around the world. The
postcards are also a way of maintaining a relationship with home while
the nomadic gallery continues to be mobile and living a particular lifestyle
which is privileged, yet locally malnourished as each tour is an uprooting
from the galleries home base, interrupting the securities and comforts
that a substantial continuous community has to offer.
These postcards are also for sale as an artist’s multiple at the
eyelevelgallery in Halifax, NS, and the Third Space Gallery in St. John,
NB, as well as independently from the McCleave Gallery. To order a set
of postcards please visit our website at www.mccleavegallery.ca. All of
the proceeds will directly support The McCleave Gallery Lineage Tour 2006.
The Reproduction Suitcases:
As part of the McCleave Lineage Tour 2006, three full-colour reproductions
of the original suitcase and all of its contents have been scattered across
various commonwealth countries including Canada, Australia, and potentially
more. Each reproduction suitcase is the same colour and scale as the original
and was made from corrugated plastic in an industrial mass-production
style ‘cookie cutter’ manner.
Each of these ‘spawn’ or ‘decoy’ suitcases have
been living simultaneously with the original except in completely different
cultures, exploring issues of perceived authenticity and cultural reproduction
between Europe and ‘the new world’. The first of three replicas
has returned home from the Foreman Art Gallery in Lennoxville, QC, the
second, being slightly more restless, is traveling to various locations
around Australia under the care of the Sydney based Invisible Inc. collective.
The third has been staying close to home, being shown in various venues
in the Maritime provinces of Canada including the eyelevelgallery in Halifax,
NS, and the Third Space Gallery in St. John, NB.
In a world where many of our physical and cultural experiences are mass-produced
and ‘borrowed’, therefore often displayed in entirely different
context than they could have been intended for, the reproductions could
be perceived as a symbol, living off of the name and hard earned fortune
of their precursor. As each original book-work has its own unique form
and method of storytelling, the information that is passed on to the reproductions
will vary in degrees of accuracy, emphasizing how meaning may be re-signified
or become obsolete through cultural transfer reproduction.
Artists featured in the McCleave Gallery Lineage Tour 2006:
Jen
Weih (New York, NY)
Barbara
Gilbert (Toronto, ON)
Jessica Demers (Victoria, BC)
Julia Baird (Waterloo, ON)
Lisa Ross and Julietta Maria (Toronto,
ON)
Sandra Smirle (Toronto, ON)
Isaac Flagg (Victoria, BC)
Jo Cook (Mayne Island, BC)
Shayne Ehman (Boyle, AB)
Alissa Firth-Eagland (Banff,
AB)
Leah Decter (Winnipeg, MB)
Kelly Andres (Lethbridge, AB)
La Corvée (Alma, QC)
Jerry Ropson (Pollard's Point, NF)
Barbara Rehus (Oakville, ON)
Haruko Okano (Vancouver, BC)
Peter Sramek (Toronto, ON)
Itinerary for the 2006 season:
February 25 - Halifax, NS. Participant in the Midwinter Craft Fair at the Khyber Centre for the Arts in Halifax, NS.
March 9 - Halifax, NS. A one night grand launching of the 2006 McCleave exhibition season at the Anchor Archive Regional Zine Library and the eyelevelgallery in conjunction with the eyelevel Re-shelving initiative 2 where the McCleave Gallery also launched checkpoint, a postcard publication that stems from the 2006 lineage tour.
March 9 - April 22nd - The McCleave Gallery of Fine Art Repro-suitcase # 3 of 3 exhibited at the ERI 2 group exhibition at the eyelevel gallery in Halifax, NS, CAN.
March 15 - 26 - Melbourne, AUS. Participated in The Invisible Inc. Reading Room at the Next Wave Festival as part of the 2006 commonwealth games.
April 10 - 23 - Rotterdam, NL. Participant in the This Neck of the Woods artist in residence program.
May 3 - June 23 - Lennoxville, QC. Part of Illumination Escapade, a group exhibition in the Foreman Art Gallery of Bishop's University.
May 3 - June 5 - The McCleave Gallery of FIne Art 2006 Lineage Tour. Various locations in the Netherlands, Ireland, and the UK.
May 26 - 28 - Cambridge, UK. The Taxi Gallery.
June 24 - August 5 - St. John, NB. The Third Space Gallery Vault Space.
July 1 - 3 - Amsterdam, NL. CESTA symposium on Social Transformation of the Arts.
July 24 - August 1 - Rotterdam, NL. RAM foundation for the Arts.
October 17
- 29- Sydney,
AUS. The Invisible Inc. Reading Room at First Draft Gallery.
The 2005 Cross-Canada Suitcase Tour:
Feb. 26th – Mar. 4th – Halifax, NS
By filling a suitcase with American and Canadian pennies, Ju’s suitcase work examines exchange and the political and economical conditions in North America between Canada and the USA. The amount of American and Canadian pennies will be proportioned according to the current economy of the certain dates that the work is shown.
Mar. 5th – 12th – Charlottetown, PE
Carr-Chaisson’s work for the McCleave suitcase tour will consist of a selection of about twenty-four 4”x6” images of various spots around P.E.I. Each black and white image is taken with a pinhole camera of travel related subjects such as the confederation bridge or the sea.
Mar. 13th – 21st – Alma, PQ
For the suitcase tour, Robitaille will place a curved, reflective surface inside the suitcase. The viewer will be permitted to pick up the mirror and interact with it while their picture is taken by the carrier of the suitcase. In this work, Robitaille references the curved mirror, a visual motif which recurs throughout art history, also dealing with the mediation of the image by technology. The reflection of the viewer is distorted both by the curved mirror and by the process of photography.
Mar. 22nd – 29th – Ste. Thérèse, PQ
PRAXIS - Group show (organized by Robert Cloutier)
In 2000, 2002, and
2003, PRAXIS has organized a series of suitcase works, hosting a collaborative
installation process where the suitcase itself was divided into 9 compartments.
The installation would begin with one artist filling one compartment,
and then passed onto the next artist to fill following compartment until
the suitcase was completely filled. The result would be a record of a
community of artists. During the tour, the McCleave Gallery will carry
two of the three suitcases at a time, alternating the suitcases each day
of the exhibition.
Mar. 30th – Apr. 6th – Montréal, PQ
Kit
Malo
For the suitcase
tour Kit will inhabit the gallery with a microorganism world using pen
and ink drawings and prints. As the exhibition progresses, the structure
of the microorganism will change and evolve within the setting of the
suitcase. The storyline of this exhibition will become more detailed and
complex as the exhibition continues and will make reference to St. Henri,
a locale in Montréal that is changing rapidly due to the gentrification
of the city and it’s downtown core.
April 6th - Kingston, ON
Group suitcase show, suitcase presentation, and panel discussion with artists Lindsay Fisher and Vincent Perez at Modern Fuel Gallery (21 A Queen St., Kingston).
Apr.
7th – 14th – Toronto, ON
For the suitcase tour,
the Z’otz* collective will construct a series of portable art pieces
made of many small light-weight sheets of paper that can be folded into
the suitcase. Their images follow the theme of mapping, travel, translation,
artifacts, and the urban life.
Apr. 15th – 21st – Guelph, ON
Bon Voyage:
a farewell for broken hearts (2005)
For the cross-Canada tour, Van Geest will fill the suitcase with packaged
band-aids that are accompanied with the phrase 'leave as many kissed band-aids
as you can, and take as many as you need'. The work will consist of an
ongoing collaborative performance in which the gallery attendants will
give the kissed band-aids away after sealing them with a gel medium. The
kissed band-aids will be simultaneously collected and dispersed throughout
the tour.
Apr. 22nd – 28th – Waterloo, ON
Reis’ collection of figurative prints will occupy her suitcase in the format of a book. The figures appear to be purposeful yet in fact are empty actions that seem to lead to nowhere in particular. Unlike the figures that we see in the history of portraiture, Reis’ work reflects a preoccupation with dualism; specifically in relation to coupled figures. The main focus of her work is to investigate stereotypical depictions of the individual and it’s alienation within a complex society.
Apr. 29th – May 5th – Toronto, ON - all suitcases above available for viewing by appointment.
May 9th – 16th – Regina, SK
Collectively, the OAO will fill the suitcase with photographs of work, actual work, inter office memos, commission contracts, sales contracts, and other such forms of self promotion. In this, the gallery attendant will act as a ‘traveling salesman’, promoting the work of the OAO at the same time as exposing the documents of the process of promotion. The OAO members have agreed to each carry a suitcase acquired on the tour for the week that the McCleave gallery arrives from 9am-5pm, meaning that all suitcase works that are involved in the tour at that time will be shown on a ‘by chance or appointment’ basis.
May 9th – 16th – Panel Discussion at the OAO board room and portable group suitcase exhibition, courtesy of the OAO. Regina, SK.
May 17th – 24th – Lethbridge, AB
In her suitcase work,
Andres works with issues surrounding feminist theory using “obsolete-ism”
and technology as a central theme to the exhibition. Within this work,
she transforms an old travel “GE Stylette” beauty aid into
an audio piece that can be directly experienced by the viewer. The audio
section will be accessible to the viewer/listener when they put the hair
“bonnet” tube near their ear and turn the power dial to “on”.
May 25th – Jun. 1st – Banff, AB
Hutton’s work
entitled ‘Manual: New and Improved’ will take on the form
of a tent which will occupy the suitcase, addressing issues of tourism,
nomadic living, and housing crises. The tent will be accompanied with
an instructional manual showing the viewer how to set up the tent using
step-by-step instructions. This work is specific to Banff, with its rapidly
fluctuating and transient population.
Jun. 2nd – 9th – Vancouver, BC
Van Delft’s suitcase work titled ‘laptopdancing@an.archeogy’ was inspired by the fact that “sex” is the most commonly used search word on the internet. Inside the antique suitcase is an antique shirt, a miniature book of Shakespeare, and a 1980 keyboard with the letter keys arranged to read ‘e me baby e me hard’. The suitcase is also accompanied by an old house key and various other materials, examining the cross-section of the history of the sex trade industry with where it lies today within the realm of the internet.
Jun. 10th – 18th – Victoria, BC
Jazvac’s project ‘Knock off Walls’ will involve the peddling of low-quality imitation Jeff Wall photographs out of a shady-looking, black leather briefcase. The photographs themselves will be Polaroids of small dioramas set up to mimic Wall’s compositions. The resulting images will be overtly fake, but still easily recognizable as Jeff Wall impersonations. “Knock off Walls” will be a playful look in the status of an ‘art-star’, while cross-examining knock-off culture, perceptions of value and a prevailing Canadian west coast aesthetic.
Jun. 10th
– 18th – Group suitcase exhibition at the Ministry
of Casual Living. Victoria, BC.
Jun. 23rd – 30th – Dawson City, YT
Salez’s suitcase
work is an experiment of a cross-section of cultures and eras of Dawson
City. She uses fabric and textiles that have a relationship or reference
to specific groups or communities within the region. Inside the suitcase
is also a small music box that opens containing more fabric and textures.
Sept. 22nd – October 29th –Dawson City, YT
Final cross-Canada tour group suitcase show and curators talk at the ODD Gallery.
2004
December 5th - Halifax,NS
Pittbulls and Unicorns - Art Auction and Live Music
A fundraiser for the cross-Canada suitcase tour at the Khyber Café featuring live music by Jenn Grant, Jonah Bernstein, Rob MacIssac, Michael McCormack, and Max Boyle. Original work for a silent auction by Jeanne Ju, Michael Young, Mary Kim, Jenn Dorner, Melissa Bennett, Greg Denton, Jenn Grant, Michael McCormack, Lauren Power, Adam O'Reilly, and Dawn E. McCormack-Craig.
2003
March 14 - 30 - Guelph, ON
Daniella Liebregts - Hair Balls
Hair Balls is an interactive exhibit including sculpture, performance and a website. Daniella has carefully sculpted and packaged a collection of left over hair from a Guelph salon into beautifully crafted balls of various sizes, colours and styles. The website provides a satelite version of the project, marketing the products, suggesting various styles and uses for them.
January 20 - 31 - Guelph, ON
Michael Waterman - Moving Pictures
With his suitcase installation Moving Pictures, Watermanhas renovated the interior of the suitcase with fake wood panel walls covered with selected found photographs which are displayed in frames that seem to come from the same 'retro-domestic' atmosphere. The installation is a smaller, more portable version of Waterman's work titled Framed Found Photo's (1990 and 1999) which were a part of his solo exhibition titled A Place for Everything at the Art Gallery of Peterborough (Peterborough, ON). Moving Pictures simultaniously walks many lines, providing to the viewer with what seems like a basement family archive or museum of framed photos, each with it's own fragmented and incomplete history. Authorship, discovery, and creation are brought into question as each previously discarded print is found, edited and given a specific status or personal/social value.
January 15 - Dundas, ON
McCleave Gallery display and slide presentation at the Dundas Valley School of Art.
2002
December 4 - 14 - Guelph, ON
Greg Denton - Location...Location...Location...
Location...Location...Location...is an extension of Denton's Double-Six Set permanent abstract painting installation on the ceiling of the Bookshelf ebar in downtown Guelph. Consisting of 168 identical white circular monochrome paintings, 3 and 3 quarters inches in diameter, the paintings (or spots) are signed and labeled on the backside with a diagram designating their location within the domino scheme. During the length of the exhibition, the spot paintings were available for sale for $10 each. This illustrated the 'street-vendor' characteristics of the suitcase gallery at the same time as fudraising over $1300.00 for the Action Read Community Literacy Centre in Guelph and Wellington County.
November 23 - December 1 - Guelph, ON
Maia Iotzova - Enviro-mend
With Envoro-mend, Iotzova has effectively transformed the gallery attendant into a portable pharmiseutical sales agent, providing for him a portable pharmiseutical sales kit including order forms, instruction booklets, pills, and flyers. With these materials the gallery attendant plays the role of a sales representative attempting to sell the new 'wonder drug' on street corners and other public places.
November 21 - Kitchener, ON
McCleave Gallery slide presentation and one night exhibition of Jen Hutton's Manual, rOb Keogh's Caught in the Rain, and Don Miller's You're It. Blue dot projects, Kitchener, ON.
November 6 - November 20 - Guelph, ON
Jen Hutton - Manual
With her installation Manual, Jen has transformed the suitcase into a red miniature nylon tent which is packed up and accompanied by an instruction manual with simple instructions of how to assemble and dismantle the tent. When the tent is pitched it is far too small to actually use, both hightlighting the temporary installation that it is, and the disfunctionality of a space which is an essential element to our basic survival needs.
October 19 - November 1 - Guelph, ON
rOb Keogh - Caught in the Rain
Caught in the Rain is an open narrative printmaking show consisting of 10 monoprints of two images each, carefully mounted between two pieces of plexiglass. Keogh's images provide segments of stories that are left open to completion by the viewer.
August 12 - 20 - Halifax, NS
Stephen Fisher - Residuus
With Residuus, Fisher explores the idea of accidental painting by displaying a collection of clothing with stains of juice, mustard, wine, coffee etc. Each stain is stretched into a canvass highlightning each accident as a work of art.
July 29 - August 9 - Halifax, NS
Don Miller - You're it
You're it is a sound installation of Miller's voice reciting a list of questions as he travels back and forth between Halifax and it's twin city Dartmouth. His questions are personal and seem to address the viewer/listener alone as if they were a close friend. The suitcase, when opened, is completely empty with only the voice that turns on and off as the suitcase is opened or closed.
July 1 - 12 - Halifax, NS
Melissa Bennett - You are here
You are here is an exploration of people, their place, and what they have brought with them. This is an interactive exhibit where the viewer is invited to exchange something of theirs for a small reward.
June 10 - 21 - Halifax, NS
Jeanne Ju - Break and Enter
Break and Enter consists of a series of black and white photographs of doorknobs that are carefully hung on a wire using bobby pins. With this work, Ju has brilliantly introduced ideas of mystery and personal space, leaving the viewer perhaps slightly disturbed or suspicious as one may feel towards a 'used watch' salesperson on the streetcorner.
