The first exhibition to open at Queen’s University’s Centre for Indigenous Research Creation aims to shed light on the relationships between humans and animals by focusing on how animals become objectified in natural history museums.

Carina Magazzeni, the curator for Brad Isaacs: The Map of the Empire and a master’s student in Cultural Studies, says that by working in archives and museums she became interested with how animals are collected and archived in abundance in natural history museums.

She says that the photographic and video works produced by Toronto-based artist Brad Isaacs challenges the belief under which natural history museums operate: that the experience of collecting, witnessing and interacting with a deceased animal body will increase nature conservation awareness and facilitate human care towards animals and their habitats.

“I see Brad’s art practice as a way of unmapping the very colonial underpinnings of natural history museums,” she says. “In his work I think it is bringing attention to how these relationships between humans and animals become fractured in these spaces. I think through this exhibition he can offer gallery viewers the opportunity to reimagine the collective future in relation to the ecology and land that humans and other-than-humans share.”

The show focusses on the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, which opened its storage facilities in Gatineau to Ms. Magazzeni and Mr. Isaacs.

Her master’s supervisor is Dylan Robinson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts at Queen’s, who has also organized the Conversations in Indigenous Arts Series, which will wrap up with Mr. Isaacs’ artist talk on March 29, 7-8:30 pm at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.

An opening reception of the exhibition will follow at the Centre for Indigenous Research Creation, located at Mackintosh-Corry Hall Room D217. Vancouver-based poet Cecily Nicholson will be responding to the exhibition through poetry by outdoor projection and a limited broadsheet run at the opening. 

The exhibition will continue through to May 6 on Tuesdays (1:30-4:30 pm) Wednesdays (1:30-4:30 pm and Thursdays (4:30-7:30 pm). Centre hours may be subject to change – see website for updates.