Aurora Cultural Centre Backwards and Forwards
I first saw the work of Vanessa Dion Fletcher, a Lenape and Potawatomi neurodiverse artist online in 2021. Taken by the materiality and considerateness of her practice — I have been following her work ever since. To my excitement, one year later Dion Fletcher’s quill-works were being installed by the Aurora Cultural Centre. On the second to last day of the exhibit’s run — I made it to Aurora.
To my surprise the exhibit was not taking place at the Cultural Centre, but rather it was inside Aurora Town Hall. This was not a the sort of gallery space I am used to, just a hallway separating government offices from rental conference rooms. Despite being located in this unexpected place, the exhibition had much to offer. A rounded wall face acted as the introductory sign, bold lettering ten inches in height indicated the exhibition title and the featured artist. With this as the starting point, exhibition designers sent a clear message that the art on these walls was more than just designs to fill the space, but an art form worthy of our attention.
The only interpretive panels were placed side by side, positioned at the halfway point of the exhibit. They provided insight into the methodologies and ideologies of the artist — Vanessa Dion Fletcher, and the curator — Aram Han Sifuentes. I found these statements critical in understanding the artwork’s significance and timeliness. For this reason I would have preferred seeing them expanded upon and placed at the begging of the exhibit, nearer to the introductory sign.
As I exited the elevator, two striking arch structures occupied the open floor space (see fig. 1). They invited visitors into the scene and set in motion a natural flow towards the larger collection of images. Given that the majority of media included in the exhibition were two dimensional, the wide corridor’s walls with mounted frames was appropriate. Having works displayed either side of the hallway meant visitors were able to walk back and forth through the space while always having a view of the work. Down the centre of the aisle was a row of cushioned benches. I found that this arrangement allowed visitors to sit at a perfect viewing distance while also at eye level with the abstract designs of Dion Fletcher’s hand-dyed porcupine quill-works. Then, when moved to do so, you could walk right up to the shadowboxes and examine the finer details of each piece.
Possibly the most significant issue with the exhibit was the installation quality, several of the frames were being torn from the wall (see fig. 2). Each frame was suspended by wire from the mouldings overhead, then tape was used to secure the wire and frame to the wall. By this time it was nearly the end of the exhibit’s run so it is understandable that the tape supports were simply peeling away. In future uses of this installation technique I would suggest more closely monitoring the status of the frames positioning, or that a more durable tape be used.
While I appreciate the aesthetics of Dion-Fletcher’s artwork, some of the themes I had associated with her work were not effectively communicated in this exhibit. An Exhibition Essay written by the curator was on offer however it was hard to identify right away — located on a table with various printed material for local events, community programming, and business pamphlets. This essay identified the following as key themes in Dion-Fletcher’s work: accessibility, neurodiversity, ‘slowness’, Indigenous Abstraction, and the feminist body. Much of these ideas come from the artists ‘slow’ and delicate process. Yet there was no evidence of this undertaking in the exhibition, I would have liked to see a photo or video of the artist in situ.
Many of the works on paper were enlarged and translated into vinyl photo prints that were directly adhered to the wall (see fig. 3). This was the most effective media in the exhibit, the details within the original pieces were made large enough for anyone to enjoy. A similar technique was applied to the aforementioned arches, unfortunately there the images had been magnified to the point of a grainy pixelated appearance (see fig. 4). Essentially blurring the very details which were supposed to be revealed. Another disruption to the comprehensiveness of the show, which I would ask to be changed is that many of the pieces came from a series called Zig Zag In Twenty Nine Parts. Of these twenty nine segments, none were placed in the sequence that would complete a Zig Zag. This may have been purposeful — speaking to the artists neurodiverse way of reading, but I found it bothersome.
While I would describe the visual elements of Backwards and Forwards as universally appealing, the themes conveyed by the exhibit are not consistent with those which are shared in the curatorial essay The strongpoint of the exhibition was the sense of awe felt when you investigated closely how each porcupine quill is threaded and stitched to construct a whole, a pathway, a link. In contrast, the essay presented a fully formed socio-political critique of the imposition of Coloniality on Indigenous languages (including art forms), neurodiverse ways of understanding, and the expression of gendered bodies. I fear such themes were lost in translation from the artist, to the curator, to to exhibition planners, and thus to gallery visitors who may not have read the written commentary.
Ultimately, from the perspective of a museum professional, I found Backwards and Forwards to be a clever use of an otherwise mundane community space. While time had taken its toll on certain aspects of the exhibit, as well as some oversights in the quality of certain elements, the point was made. Dion Fletcher’s finely threaded quill-works were magnified — bringing into focus the importance of contemporary expressions of Indigeneity and disability, particularly within spaces which exist under colonial governance.
This post was written in September 2022
