Artist Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn explores Canada’s 1967 centennial celebrations and federal immigration policy through the lens of the small town of St. Paul, Alberta. Canada’s centenary was a time of unparalleled optimism as the country unveiled ambitious projects showcasing its culture and history to the world. One of these projects was the construction of the world’s first “UFO Landing Pad” in St. Paul, Alberta. This exhibition, curated by Anthony Kiendl at the MacKenzie Art Gallery coincided with the 150th anniversary of Canada’s confederation.
Nguyễn was born in Montréal to a family of Vietnamese immigrants, most of whom arrived in Canada as refugees. This body of work—collectively known as Space Fiction and the Archives (2012)— reveals government policy, history, and memory intertwined with popular culture, news media and science fiction constituting notions of belonging, nationality and identity. “Science fiction is descriptive not predictive,” reads an inter-title from “A People Kind of Place,” a short film that is part of the Space Fiction project.
Nguyễn is a research-based artist currently living and working in Saigon, Vietnam and Stockholm, Sweden. Nguyễn works with a broad range of media, including printmaking, sound, and video installation. Through her investigations of feminist theory, multiculturalism, collectivity, and utopian politics, Nguyễn illuminates seemingly insignificant stories in order to underline the political relevance of otherwise marginalized or forgotten histories.
Nguyễn received her BFA from Concordia University (2003) before earning her MFA and a post-graduate diploma in Critical Studies from the Malmö Art Academy, Sweden (2005). In 2011, she completed the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program. She is the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including the Swedish Research and Development Fellowship in the Arts (2007), Iaspis (Swedish Arts Grants Committee) (2010), Brenda and Jamie Mackie Fellowships for Visual Artists from the Banff Centre (2012), and Council for the Arts Production Grants (2012).
Exhibition at the MacKenzie Art Gallery April 8 to October 1, 2017
Photos: Courtesy MacKenzie Art Gallery and the artist.
