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Contemporary Art Gallery

555 Nelson Street
Vancouver, Canada
Open from Tuesday to
Sunday 12 pm → 6 pm

Admission always free
ArchiveExhibition
5 Mar 94until9 Apr 94

Sunil Gupta

Trespass I

555 Hamilton St

A long horizontal print containing three photographs in a row. One image is of a figure facing a baseball field, the next is of the outside of a sports stadium and the third is of two smiling people.

The Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present the first solo exhibition in Canada by Sunil Gupta. As an artist, curator, writer and editor in London, England, Gupta has played an important role in the evolution of the Black Arts Movement that emerged in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s.

Having once worked as a photojournalist, Gupta has been influenced by documentary practices. Trespass I consists of large 3 ½ foot by 8 foot computer generated photomontages developed after a visit to Berlin. Gupta has juxtaposed images of himself and other non-Europeans with scenarios that represent icons of European culture. The photomontages speak of the immigrant presence in the new unified Europe, specifically "post-wall" Berlin, and are pertinent to discussions taking place around issues of immigration and the global cultural diaspora. Gupta presents the non-European as an active participant, rather than a passive observer, in the societal change that is affecting many western countries.

Biography

Sunil Gupta was born in New Delhi, raised in Montreal, and has been living in London for the past decade. He has shown throughout the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, the United States and will be represented in the Havana Biennial in May of 1994. He is also curator for the Institute of New International Visual Art, an organization engaged in promoting a plurality of art-making practices from around the world that challenge the domination of Eurocentric traditions.

Three large horizontal works on a gallery space. The pieces have 2 or 3 photos included in each. The photos include a birds-eye view of a building, a naked person reading, and a person smoking.
Two horizontal artworks in a gallery space. The works each have 3 or 4 images in them. The images include European stone sculptures, a person standing in front of a mantle, and images of text.
Four horizontal works spread across two gallery walls. The works each have 2 or three photos in them. The photos include a rec-coloured image of Nazi Germany, a baseball field, and a metal gate.
Three horizontal works across two gallery walls. The works have 3 photos each in them, which include images of an airport runway, people standing in line, a skyline, and Nazi Germany.

Documents

Essay: "Living in the City: Racial & Sexual Difference in the Work of Sunil Gupta," David A. Baileypdf1mb
A long horizontal print containing three photographs in a row. One image is of a figure facing a baseball field, the next is of the outside of a sports stadium and the third is of two smiling people.
Three large horizontal works on a gallery space. The pieces have 2 or 3 photos included in each. The photos include a birds-eye view of a building, a naked person reading, and a person smoking.
Two horizontal artworks in a gallery space. The works each have 3 or 4 images in them. The images include European stone sculptures, a person standing in front of a mantle, and images of text.
Four horizontal works spread across two gallery walls. The works each have 2 or three photos in them. The photos include a rec-coloured image of Nazi Germany, a baseball field, and a metal gate.
Three horizontal works across two gallery walls. The works have 3 photos each in them, which include images of an airport runway, people standing in line, a skyline, and Nazi Germany.