窪蹋勛圖厙Art Gallery has been invaded. There are squirrels underfoot, bears around the corner, and tigers taking in the sights. You can hear dogs, cats, and goats in the corners of the gallery; horses dash across the walls, and a stuffed raccoon calmly eats Cracker Jacks from a box in a corner.
Despite the cheerfully chaotic state of the display space, curator Peter Dykhuis is not offended by the intrusion of the furred-and-feathered set. Truth be told, he orchestrated it.
This projects been in my books for about four years, says Mr. Dykhuis, who is curating Dal Art Gallerys new exhibit Exalted Beings: Animal Relationships. Im really interested in the relationship between human beings and the species of animals that are considered close to us Im looking at them as having a special relationship with human beings.
The relationships portrayed are rather unpredictable. In William Wegmans film fragments from the 70s (Smoking, Spelling Lesson, and New And Used Car Salesman, among others),
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In another corner of the gallery, Kelly Marks Sniff plays on a loop. An unidentified hand offers an unimpressed cat several different objects, including a Bible, a liquor bottle, a twenty-dollar bill, and a kitchen knife. What he looks at quite closely are things that he can play with, Mr. Dykhuis says, noting the cat seems especially fond of the leather-bound Bible.
The dog and the cat have both become rock stars in their own ways, he chuckles. In many ways, the artist is kind of upstaged by the animal.
Exalted Beings has been a long time in the making for Mr. Dykhuis. To me, this is a dream come true, to have all the work together, he says. He started with a small group of core artists, and incorporated more talent as the exhibits plans grew organically. I grew the project from four artists into 11. I just had the ability here (at Dalhousie) to map it out.
Exalted Beings is eye-catching but there is a deeper messagea method to the menagerie. I was really specific about the subject matter of the show, in that its not really about the description of animals, says Mr. Dykhuis. There are animals in here as content, but the projects called Exalted Beings the subject matter is the relationship between animals and human beings.
Exalted Beings: Animal Relationships is curated by Peter Dykhuis and features artwork by Barbara Berry, Tonia Di Risio, Michael Fernandes, David Harper, Kelly Mark, Susan McEachern, Jan Peacock, Corinna Schnitt, William Wegman, Mitchell Wiebe, and Jon Knowles. It runs until October 5 in the 窪蹋勛圖厙Art Gallery. Admission is free.