The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's major summer exhibition turns an artistic lens on trans-Pacific trade, examining how trade shapes social relations across the Pacific.
Since the 16th century, European and American trade has shaped the history of the Pacific. Anticipating the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — the largest free-trade agreement in the world, Trans-Pacific Transmission: Video Art Across the Pacific, brings together video works from around the Pacific Rim to examine how artists have engaged with issues of trans-Pacific trade.
“We typically think of trade in terms of the economy, but trade and economic change have social impacts and therefore a cultural dimension. Trade is also a means of transmitting ideas and broadening cultural paradigms,” said Haema Sivanesan, the exhibition's curator.
“Video as an art is an art medium emerged at the same time as the trans-Pacific growth in trade — interestingly, the first consumer video camera was released in the U.S. in 1967 by Sony. Video is able to collapse geographic space and time, and it's able to suggest instantaneous communication and collectivity across diverse nations.”
Artists include David Rimmer, Ho Tam and Clive Robertson of Canada, in addition to several other artists from around the globe.
Trans-Pacific Transmissions: Video Art Across the Pacific runs June 4 to Sept. 5. Other events include Trade Offs — a forum with the exhibition’s curator and artists Yoko Inoue (Japan/USA), Lucy Aukafalau (Tonga/New Zealand), and local artist Charles Campbell as they examine the human and social implications of trans-Pacific trade. Trade Offs take place Saturday, June 4 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
For more information visit aggv.ca or call 250-384-4171.