Items Similar to You mess with me, you mess with my cousins
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5
Sonny AssuYou mess with me, you mess with my cousins2014
2014
About the Item
The title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix culture—as digital interventions onto works that contain the colonial gaze.
These interventions participate in the growing discourse of decolonization, acting as “tags” to challenging the colonial fantasy of terra nullius and confronting the dominant colonial culture’s continued portrayal of Indigenous peoples as a vanishing race.
With the insertion of ovoids, s-shapes and u-shapes into the images, both the landscape paintings and the Northwest Coast design elements are changed. The landscapes become marked by the spectre of Native presence and the NWC design elements, traditionally two-dimensional in appearance, acquire the illusion of depth through association with Western principles of perspective. I see these bold interruptions of the landscapes as acts of resistance towards the colonial subjugation of the First People.
Through museum interventions, large-scale installations, sculpture, photography, printmaking and paintings, Sonny Assu merges the aesthetics of Indigenous iconography with a pop art sensibility in an effort to address contemporary, political and ideological issues. His work often focuses on Indigenous issues and rights, and the ways in which the past has come to inform contemporary ideas and identities. Assu infuses his work with wry humour to open the dialogue towards the use of consumerism, branding and technology as totemic representation. Within this, his work deals with the loss of language and cultural resources, and the effects of colonization upon the Indigenous people of North America.
His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Hydro Quebec, Lotto Quebec, The Audain Museum and in various other public and private collections across Canada, the United States and the UK.
Assu is Ligwilda'x_w (We Wai Kai) of the Kwakwaka'wakw nations. He graduated from Emily Carr University (2002) and was the recipient of their distinguished alumni award in 2006. He received the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations art in 2011 and was long-listed for the Sobey Art Award in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Assu is an MFA candidate at Concordia University, while he currently works and lives in South Surrey.
- Creator:Sonny Assu (1975, Canadian)
- Creation Year:2014
- Dimensions:Height: 22.5 in (57.15 cm)Width: 27.25 in (69.22 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Montreal, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4761035673
Sonny Assu
Sonny Assu (Liǥwildaʼx̱w of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nations) was raised in North Delta, BC, over 250 km away from his home ancestral home on Vancouver Island. Having been raised as your everyday average suburbanite, it wasn’t until he was eight years old that he discovered his Liǥwildax̱w/Kwakwaka’wakw heritage. Later in life, this discovery would be the conceptual focal point that helped launch his unique art practice. Assu’s artistic practice is diverse: spanning painting, sculpture, photography, digital art and printmaking. Sonny negotiates Western and Kwakwaka’wakw principles of art making as a means of exploring his family history and the experiences of being an Indigenous person in the colonial state of Canada. Having cut his teeth in Vancouver’s art scene, Assu packed up and moved to Montreal to be with the love of his life. Five years later, along with his wife and beautiful daughter, Sonny moved back to BC, eventually settling back “home” in unceded Liǥwildaʼx̱w territory (Campbell River, BC.). Assu received his BFA from the Emily Carr University in 2002 and was the recipient of their distinguished alumni award in 2006. He received the BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations art in 2011 and was thrice long-listed for the Sobey Art Award. He received his MFA from Concordia University in 2017 and was one of the Laureates for the 2017 REVEAL – Indigenous Art Awards. His work has been accepted into the National Gallery of Canada, Seattle Art Museum, Vancouver Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, Burke Museum at the University of Washington, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Hydro Quebec, Lotto Quebec and in various other public and private collections across Canada, the United States and the UK.
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 1996
1stDibs seller since 2014
96 sales on 1stDibs
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montreal, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- "The only thing more pathetic than Indians on TV is Indians watching Indians...By Sonny AssuLocated in Montreal, QuebecThe title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix cu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Digital
- Nuit Blanche à JodhpurBy Michel PiquetteLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt is the luminous colours of Michel Piquette’s works that first catch the eye. His chromatic circles that stir up vision take root in an aesthetic tradition a few decades old alread...Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Digital
- Tell Chakotay that we'll brbBy Sonny AssuLocated in Montreal, QuebecThe title "Interventions On The Imaginary" is a clear reference to Marcia Crosby’s essay, "The Construction of the Imaginary Indian", and situates itself within the realm of remix cu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsDigital, Archival Paper
- Nuit Blanche à DubaiBy Michel PiquetteLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt is the luminous colours of Michel Piquette’s works that first catch the eye. His chromatic circles that stir up vision take root in an aesthetic tradition a few decades old alread...Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Digital
- Nuit Blanche à Barcelone 3By Michel PiquetteLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt is the luminous colours of Michel Piquette’s works that first catch the eye. His chromatic circles that stir up vision take root in an aesthetic tradition a few decades old alread...Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Digital
- Nuit Blanche à DelhiBy Michel PiquetteLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt is the luminous colours of Michel Piquette’s works that first catch the eye. His chromatic circles that stir up vision take root in an aesthetic tradition a few decades old alread...Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Digital
You May Also Like
- GA1220 Limited edition 2/10 giclee geometric abstraction signed printBy Zach TouchonLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis work is a limited edition print for a GA1220 work from the "Geometric Abstraction" series. Limited edition 2/10 Giclee print on Fine Art Paper - Canson® Infinity is a 100% co...Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Mixed Media
MaterialsArchival Paper, Giclée
- TULLE Triptych - abstact photographs of mesmerizing texture details (64x48")By Christian StollLocated in San Francisco, CATULLE of 3 Images by Christian Stoll an epic scale photograph of mesmerizing texture details 3 x single Images of 64 x 48 inches / 163cm x 122cm editi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Color Photography
MaterialsArchival Ink, Photographic Paper, Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Giclée
- Dealer - large format art photograph of contemporary AmericanaBy Frank SchottLocated in San Francisco, CADealer by Frank Schott 27 x 40 inches / 67cm x 102cm edition of 25 signed 48 x 72 inches / 122cm x 183cm edition of 7 signed archival fine art pigment print signed & numbered by a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Color Photography
MaterialsArchival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
- Burst II - large scale abstract photograph of caleidoscopic color explosionsBy Christian StollLocated in San Francisco, CAFrom Christian Stoll's body of works BURST (2015), an abstract exploration of high speed photographs capturing mesmerizing explosions of caleidoscopic color 27 x 40 inches (68 x 102...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Color Photography
MaterialsArchival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
- GA1222 Limited edition 2/10 giclee geometric abstraction signed printBy Zach TouchonLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis work is a limited edition print for a GA1222 painting from the "Geometric Abstraction" series. Giclee print on Fine Art Paper - Canson® Infinity is a 100% cotton museum-grade,...Category
2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Prints
MaterialsArchival Paper, Giclée
- Paradigm RedBy Brad EllisLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis unframed, signed, limited edition pigment print by artist Brad Ellis exists in an edition of 30. Paper size is 30"h x 24"w with an image size of 24"h x 19"w. Brad Ellis is a Da...Category
2010s Abstract Abstract Prints
MaterialsCotton, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigment, Digital...
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
First Nations Art
S Cousins
First Nations Canada
Indian Colonial Art
Canadian First Nation Art
Indigenous Art Canadian
Totem Native American
Abstract Multiples Totems
Washington Colonial
Canadian Totem
Indian Totem
North Coast Native American Art
Northwest Coast Native Art
Northwest Native American Sculpture
The Vanishing Race
Vanishing Race
First Nations Art Nwc
First Nations Nwc Art