topographies
THE ROBERT MCLAUGHLIN GALLERY
JUNE 10 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2023
Those mountains of shadows and valleys of light from the Topographies Series, 2023.
TOPOGRAPHIES
Solo exhibition
Curator: Leila Timmins
Topographies is a new body of work by Winnipeg-based artist Anna Binta Diallo, exploring map-making and world building. Inspired by the rich visual histories and formal qualities of maps, this new installation explores the metaphoric and symbolic possibilities of representation. If a map is a translation of the important elements and characteristics of a particular place during a moment in time, this exhibition asks, what happens when the view is expanded? How do you contain a multitudes of perspectives across geographies, times and cultures? What richness is revealed through these layered forms of meaning-making?
For Topographies Diallo employs a personal archive of historical and outdated maps to re-interpret them as the basis for a new body of sculptural works. Exploring the sedimentary layers that form various imagined terrains, the work builds from this concept of the earth’s striated formation as a metaphor for the layered histories, material cultures, and human/non-human flourishing that happens within a place over time. Using layers of Plexiglas, the hung panels form large-scale topographies, consisting of cut-out shapes, textures, and found imagery, interpreted as vertical landscapes that include fossilizations of visual information, and clues of human habitation. Employing the use of light, space, layering, and depth, these new works are a material departure from Diallo’s recent work, proposing new ways to convey a narrative that continues to expand on previous research on folklore, language, history, and transcultural identity. By assembling imagery from a diverse set of archival sources, this immersive installation maps a new world, evoking themes of place-making and stewardship, as well as the consequences of colonial histories and conquest, divisions, and ownership. Together, the works in Topographies explore how our perception of land and ground can transform, interwoven with our experiences and history, mutating and morphing like earth’s crust.
The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts for this exhibition.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
72 Queen St.Civic Centre
Oshawa, ON, L1H 3Z3
Solo exhibition
Curator: Leila Timmins
Topographies is a new body of work by Winnipeg-based artist Anna Binta Diallo, exploring map-making and world building. Inspired by the rich visual histories and formal qualities of maps, this new installation explores the metaphoric and symbolic possibilities of representation. If a map is a translation of the important elements and characteristics of a particular place during a moment in time, this exhibition asks, what happens when the view is expanded? How do you contain a multitudes of perspectives across geographies, times and cultures? What richness is revealed through these layered forms of meaning-making?
For Topographies Diallo employs a personal archive of historical and outdated maps to re-interpret them as the basis for a new body of sculptural works. Exploring the sedimentary layers that form various imagined terrains, the work builds from this concept of the earth’s striated formation as a metaphor for the layered histories, material cultures, and human/non-human flourishing that happens within a place over time. Using layers of Plexiglas, the hung panels form large-scale topographies, consisting of cut-out shapes, textures, and found imagery, interpreted as vertical landscapes that include fossilizations of visual information, and clues of human habitation. Employing the use of light, space, layering, and depth, these new works are a material departure from Diallo’s recent work, proposing new ways to convey a narrative that continues to expand on previous research on folklore, language, history, and transcultural identity. By assembling imagery from a diverse set of archival sources, this immersive installation maps a new world, evoking themes of place-making and stewardship, as well as the consequences of colonial histories and conquest, divisions, and ownership. Together, the works in Topographies explore how our perception of land and ground can transform, interwoven with our experiences and history, mutating and morphing like earth’s crust.
The artist gratefully acknowledges support from the Canada Council for the Arts for this exhibition.
The Robert McLaughlin Gallery
72 Queen St.Civic Centre
Oshawa, ON, L1H 3Z3
