Currently running at the Plug In Gallery is the No Place Like Home exhibit, which is the opening chapter of the four part series—with the main title from Guy Maddin’s film of the same name—My Winnipeg.
The first part of the exhibit is a scaled down version of Winnipeg artists that were featured in La Maison Rouge last year by Chantal DeGagné. She took the hands on approach to host and expose Winnipeg’s artistic elements. Neither the cold political elements nor several other of mother nature’s enduring qualities are held back in each of the charismatic pieces.
The second room hosted artwork that stimulated the mind with visions of the past floods, our winter past times (I never knew tobogganing could be so sexually alluring), and clippings from atrocious depression and wartime events.
Tucked away in the corner hung a familiar piece by Rosalie Favell called “I awoke to Find My Spirit Had Returned” – imagine awaking at the ending of the Wizard of Oz, surrounded by the ones you love, Louis Riel in the window, tucked inside of a warm Hudson’s Bay signature stripped blanket. Peculiar, indeed.
The next room featured The Indian Group of Seven, who came together in the 70s and emerged as artists who told their stories and showcased them to everybody who wanted to be exposed to cultural storytelling in ways that were unattainable in the past. This exhibit took on a couple pieces that had an abstract view of surrealism.
On the other side of this room lies the last gallery area filled with larger scaled floor to ceiling mixed media works. Adrian Williams’ “Trains” has a statuesque form as it suspends from a large block of wood, carving out boxcars lying to waste in a rail yard while a young girl peddles her way through under the cascading hydro pole lines.
Lastly before you exit is a huge diorama that seizes your eyes and imagination for quite some time. Marcel Dzama amuses your senses with a comical twist of hunters shooting into the sky at anything that moves. They just happen to be a group of bats, birds and bison that once roamed the prairies.
Admission is Free and No Place Like Home runs until Oct. 7. Visit www.plugin.org for more information on the three remaining exhibits & dates of My Winnipeg.
