The Polygon Gallery announces new sculptural commission by artist Brian Jungen
Upside Down Flagpole speaks to the relationship of national symbols and colonization
Brian Jungen, Upside Down Flagpole. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography
The Polygon Gallery is delighted to announce the commission of a major new artwork by artist Brian Jungen, produced with the support of Della and Stuart McLaughlin.
Jungen is member of the Doig River band of the Dane-zaa First Nation who lives and works in Northern B.C. His work references his own mixed European-Dane-zaa ancestry, while also critiquing labour practices, the relationships between humans and nature, and the effects of global capitalism on First Nations communities and culture.
Upside Down Flagpole (2020) was inspired by a defunct, unused flagpole on the property of the artist, who was then living in the North Okanagan. As the pole was being removed from the earth, its base—a large pail filled with concrete—came up with it. This new sculpture re-creates the flagpole, inverted, with the flag buried underground and its concrete anchor above.
“Jungen asks how we might consider the violent histories that have provided for ownership of the land that we live and work on today. These are central and pivotal themes in much of the artist’s work, and they are centrally embedded in Upside Down Flagpole,” says Reid Shier, director of the Polygon Gallery.
Upside Down Flagpole was originally conceived as part of the Polygon Gallery’s inaugural exhibition in 2017. For this new commission, Jungen has elaborated and built on the original work in realization of his initial artistic vision.
“We are honoured to assist with this important project. Brian’s gifted work provides us an opportunity to contemplate our past and future duty to advance our own reconciliation efforts with courage and determination,” add Della and Stuart McLaughlin.
The first of three editions of the sculpture is installed at a private residence in West Vancouver. Viewing details can be requested through the Gallery. News of the second and third editions of Upside Down Flagpole are forthcoming .
Along with support for the commission, the McLaughlins have also contributed an additional donation to the Polygon Gallery, in support of the capital campaign to build the Gallery’s new facility, which opened in 2017. Stuart McLaughlin was chair of the capital campaign from 2014 to 2017, and this donation adds to the McLaughlins’ original investment in the gallery. To recognize their generosity, The Polygon’s atrium gallery space has been named in their honour.
For more information, see the Polygon Gallery.
Brian Jungen, Upside Down Flagpole. Photo by Rachel Topham Photography
Post sponsored by the Polygon Gallery.