Land, Humanity and Threat, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 2022
Work: Hazmat (unborn/ reborn tsunami), patchwork of artist’s decade-long proof print archive, handmade hybrid paper, kakishibu dyed, starch-strengthened and sewn washi
“A selection of works, currently on view in the contemporary art galleries of the National Gallery of Canada, addresses threats both to human bodies and to the bodies of land around us. A paper suit implies a shield to protect a person from unseen external danger and cancer-fighting T-cells wage a silent interior battle, while images of volcanic smoke and glaciers create an icy landscape that evokes a state of peril. Environmental health is called into question through works addressing oil-sands extraction in northern Alberta, mining practices in Nunavut and accelerated ice melt in the far North. Collectively, these works serve as poignant meditations on the human, political and environmental challenges that face us all.
Visual artist Alexa Hatanaka works mainly in printmaking, paper and textile, using processes connected to her Japanese heritage. She is primarily concerned with community-building, the environment and honouring evolving cultural practices, as seen throughout her body of work.
Following the 9.0 earthquake in Japan in 2011, she created a suit from her artist-proof prints on starch-strengthened washi (Japanese paper), using traditional Japanese processes for sewing paper clothing. The images include depictions of snowy landscapes and workers in hazmat suits. In referencing this natural disaster, the artist poignantly connects to the present, where we increasingly rely on these delicate but essential barriers to shield us against unseen forces such as viruses and environmental hazards.” - Jasmine Inglis, NGC Magazine, September 29, 2022
Images courtesy of National Gallery of Canada