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September 15 – December 10, 2022

Nostalgia Interrupted

Works by Joi T. Arcand, Alyssa Bistonath, Janice Chung, Chantal Gibson, Caroline Monnet, Howardena Pindell, Dima Srouji & Shellie Zhang
Curated by Ingrid Jones

NOSTALGIA INTERRUPTED is a hybrid presentation of eight artists exhibited digitally in partnership with Aegis Design and five artists exhibited in person at the Doris McCarthy Gallery

Digital Exhibition: Joi T. Arcand, Alyssa Bistonath, Janice Chung, Chantal Gibson, Caroline Monnet, Howardena Pindell, Dima Srouji, and Shellie Zhang

Exhibition at Doris McCarthy Gallery: Chantal Gibson, Caroline Monnet, Howardena Pindell, Dima Srouji, and Shellie Zhang

In the past few years, nostalgia has made a comeback. Not just in the form of flared denim, Barbiecore, or oversized shades, but in our political climate, media, and legislation. Unlike the expected rose-coloured idealism, this resurgence is of insidious proportions. It whispers sweet nothings to a white base fearful of globalization with slogans such as “We want our country back” and “Make America Great Again.” It touts The Great Replacement and asks its followers to “…stand up for the values that make this country great” while threatening to screen potential Black and brown immigrants for “Canadian values.” This sentimentality is not inclusive. It is a stark reminder of the complexities involved in BIPOC nostalgia, one consistently interrupted by terror, inequality, disposability, fear, and aggression.

NOSTALGIA INTERRUPTED highlights the reminiscence and perseverance of BIPOC communities through lens-based media, text, and installation. Eschewing whitewashed notions of sanguine sentimentalism as portrayed by a dominant hierarchy, this exhibition explores the aspirations, resistance, and heartbreak of marginalized communities within the context of systemic racism, xenophobia, and oppression.

Howardena Pindell, video still, Free, White and 21, 1980. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York. Image description: A Black woman is seated in a wooden chair, wrapping her head in white bandages, obscuring her face. Shot from the chest up, she is wearing a blue shirt with buttons, and the background is orange. The image is slightly grainy and blurry, reflecting that it is shot on old film.
Howardena Pindell, video still, Free, White and 21, 1980. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York. Image description: A Black woman is seated in a wooden chair, wrapping her head in white bandages, obscuring her face. Shot from the chest up, she is wearing a blue shirt with buttons, and the background is orange. The image is slightly grainy and blurry, reflecting that it is shot on old film.
Howardena Pindell, video still, Free, White and 21, 1980. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York. Image description: A Black woman is seated in a wooden chair, wrapping her head in white bandages, obscuring her face. Shot from the chest up, she is wearing a blue shirt with buttons, and the background is orange. The image is slightly grainy and blurry, reflecting that it is shot on old film.
Howardena Pindell, video still, Free, White and 21, 1980. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York. Image description: A Black woman is seated in a wooden chair, wrapping her head in white bandages, obscuring her face. Shot from the chest up, she is wearing a blue shirt with buttons, and the background is orange. The image is slightly grainy and blurry, reflecting that it is shot on old film.