Photo: Alice Tallman
Friday, January 31, 2014 | 8 – 11 p.m.
The Power Plant
231 Queens Quay West
The Power Plant opened its Winter season with a monumental exhibition by Mike Nelson: Amnesiac Hide.
Photo: Alice Tallman
Photo: Alice Tallman
Artist Mike Nelson. Photo: Alice Tallman
Nelson is best-known for his labyrinthine architectural installations that unfold as narrative structures, where the viewer moves through rooms like a reader turns pages in a novel. These immersive environments are often seemingly abandoned, devoid of figures, yet imagining the unseen occupants of these intricate spaces is central to the viewer’s experience. For instance, Nelson’s work Quiver of Arrows is constructed from four travel trailers soldered together to form an enclosed customized space that viewers may enter and explore. While the exterior of the trailers signify a distinctly North American design for leisure and travel, Nelson renders the vehicles inoperable, removing their wheels and sections of their bodies. Audiences navigate the interior of the work, passing through the rudimentary spaces of the ‘wagons,’ where objects and tableau suggest cultural and ideological others; perhaps these are the targets of what an idea of North American liberalism could suggest for the latent arrows in their quiver. Given the size and scope of this installation, The Power Plant is the second gallery to ever exhibit Quiver of Arrows.
Mike Nelson, Quiver of Arrows, 2010. Mixed media. Installation view. Courtesy of The Power Plant.
Mike Nelson, Quiver of Arrows, 2010. Mixed media. Courtesy of The Power Plant.
Mike Nelson, Quiver of Arrows, 2010. Mixed media. Courtesy 303 Gallery, New York. Courtesy of The Power Plant.
The sculptural work, Gang of Seven, and the shelving that supports the wall for projection within another gallery space are constructed from material gathered from the beaches around Vancouver.
Mike Nelson, Gang of Seven. Mixed media. Courtesy of The Power Plant.
Partygoers met the artist Mike Nelson on the evening and were able to have a look at his show before the opening on February 1st, featuring some of his most recent work.
Power Plant director Gaëtane Verna (in the middle) with visitors. Photo: Alice Tallman
Artist An Te Liu (right) with visitors. Photo: Alice Tallman
Photo: Alice Tallman
Photo: Alice Tallman
Exhibition dates: February 1 – May 19, 2014 at The Power Plant, 231 Queens Quay West. Gallery hours: Tues–Sun 10 – 5, Thur 10 – 8 p.m.