A parallel excavation

"Duane Linklater will collaboratively investigate drywall and its materiality. The source for drywall is gypsum, a crystalline material mined in North America and globally to form drywall. The largest pit mine for gypsum is located outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In this exhibition the Linklater will investigate the materiality of drywall, while considering the political implications of it as a resource mined in Canada and globally. At Linklakter's home studio in Ontario he will experiment with drywall sections, purchased in the province. The drywall sections will then be shipped to Edmonton, where they will visually lean against existing gallery walls. The drywall may be sanded, or otherwise engaged with--progress photos included on page 3 of this document. Tanya Lukin Linklater will also work within the gallery using archaeological sifters and field notebooks. These objects will operate more sculpturally in the gallery space in relation to the drywall pieces and sit further away from the gallery walls. There will be approximately 4-5 of the sifters and notebooks sized: small - 17" x 22," medium - 20" x 26," large - 22" x 28." This exhibition speaks to place--as the materials will be investigated and purchased in northern Ontario, but the exhibition, as a whole, will also explore Edmonton as a place, and their memory of a location the artists (both Duane Linklater and Tanya Lukin Linklater) occupied for nearly nine years. The artists are also considering the relationship of indigenous peoples to the gallery, institutions and museums, which are often peripheral or can be described as a relationship of marginality. An accompanied text from the artists will be created to expand on these relationships with a possible connection to the idea of excavation."--