In Oil We Trust
Performance: May 14, 2022 6pm to 7:30pm
Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre 10124 96 St Edmonton, AB
Flag installed until May 2023. Live footage can be found here. Or (Our Youtube)
In Oil We Trust is a new performance work and durational installation by Tāłtān artist Tsēmā Igharas. As part of Tsēmā’s ongoing project Black Gold, the performance and installation both reckon with mining practices and the indisputably thriving yet ruinous extractive industries in the colonial states of British Columbia and Alberta, particularly within the context of the Athabasca oil sands and the pipelines that run from Alberta to the west coast. In Oil We Trust is a critical examination of the traditions of flag-flying and how flags relate to colonial ceremony and nationhood, and in turn how these things intersect and conflict with Indigenous world-building. The performance will emulate a flag raising ceremony yet, rather than the typical territorial symbology, the flag here will be an image of bitumen: a proposal for a more realistic representation of Canada’s true interests and priorities. The durational installation will be a webcam live-feed of the raised flag, which will document its slow disintegration in the face of the elements, honouring the weather’s ability to ultimately dissolve the interests of colonial extraction.
In Oil We Trust is supported by the BC Arts Council, and the project was made possible with the help of research assistants Haley McLean and Britany Quinn. The live footage of the flag will be available to view on the online exhibition of Black Gold, which will be launched on June 4th by Centre Clark. Documentation of the performance will be screened at the launch on June 4th—please visit the Centre Clark website for more details regarding the launch and online exhibition.
The Flag will be installed in kamâmak nihtâwikihcikan, 10146 96st Edmonton, AB until May 2023. A live feed of the flag can be found here. Or Our Youtube
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Accessibility notes: Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre is barrier-free and is equipped with a lift to reach upper floors and lower floor gallery. Single stall and wide stall washrooms available on every floor. Children are welcome! Change tables available in select washrooms.
ETS stops at 96 Street and Jasper (routes 2, 5, 88, 120, 308, 309), 97 Street and Jasper Avenue (3, 14, 100, 109, 161, 162). Paid city street parking and paid Impark lots available.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Edmonton Arts Council.
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tsēmā Igharas is an interdisciplinary artist and a member of the Tāłtān First Nation. She uses a Potlatch methodology to create works in mediums including sculpture, installation, photography, sewing and performance. Her practice is informed by Northwest Coast Formline Design, her studies in visual culture, and time spent in the mountains. Her unique approach is a way to challenge the colonial value system and to promote relations to the land, through methods of care and strategies of resistance. Tsēmā has a Bachelor's degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and graduated from the Interdisciplinary Master's in Art, Media and Design program at OCADu. She is a founding board member of the first Tāłtān NGO, Tu’dese’cho Wholistic Indigenous Leadership Development for the betterment of youth, and serves on the board for the YVR Art Foundation. Tsēmā founded and coordinates Potlatch School, which includes an Artist-in-Residence program and seasonal ceremonies in her home territory. In 2018, she won the Emily Award for outstanding ECUAD alumni, and was one of the winners of the 2020 Sobey Art Award. Tsēmā has exhibited across Canada and the US, and internationally in Mexico, Sweden, and Chile.
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PERFORMANCE
Part of In Oil We Trust, presented at Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective, 2022.
Photo: Conor McNally.