31 May - 24 Aug
9:30am - 5:00pm
Kevin McKenzie is a Cree/Métis artist, born in Regina, Saskatchewan, whose work often juxtaposes Indigenous culture with symbols drawn from popular culture and colonial inheritance. McKenzie’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented in private and public collections, including the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the First Nations University of Canada and the Saskatchewan Arts Board. He is a member of the Cowessess First Nation, Treaty 4.
In the Olivia Gallery
Following his residency as part of the Olivia and Greg Yuel Artist-in-Residence Program, the artist focused on the theoretical and physical methods of process. These new works employ a specific process, creating a simulation. By deconstructing a colonial object to its essential components, the intent of the object is broken down to be rebuilt. The components are then replicated and reassembled, destroying the original object and its intent to introduce a new Indigenous object.
The subject of this simulation is a full set of body armour. Over the course of a month, the artist recreated a symbol of oppression and subjugation using traditional materials. Body armour has been utilized by police and military forces to intimidate Indigenous people. This new version of body armour is constructed out of moulded elk rawhide, deer skin, horse hair, and sinew. The object is functional, and designed for the new Indigenous superhero. What is left is an exploration of protection and un-masc-ed masculinity through an Indigenous worldview.
