Every prophet in their house: Beneath a Petroliferous Moon at the Mendel Art Gallery
Non-state actors are a more menacing and elusive threat.1
..beneath a petroliferous moon,
a subtle change of ministers in the capital, a whisper
like an oil tide,
and zap, you’ll see how Standard Oil’s letters shine above the clouds,
above the seas, in your home,
illuminating their dominions.2
The problem begins with naming: we’re faced with the government funded and endorsed spin where the acrimonious word “tar” is replaced with the economically hopeful “oil.” But naming is more than that: within names are aspects of history, aspects of hope, aspects of place. And that Beneath A Petroliferous Moon is “taking place” in Saskatoon, in Saskatchewan, at the Mendel3 is one of those rare moments of focus. None of this is accidental, and none of it is without nuance, consideration or contradiction. I’m obsessed with sites of contested narratives: and I could hope for nothing better than this exhibition, with all of the baggage inherent and imported.
But names are just the tip: after all, how something is named defines its uses, its intent, and in the case of public spaces, indicates if it gives voice or manufactures alibis. Before all the self-righteous artists out there get in a huff, remember that’s a dominant stream in art history as well. For every Goya speaking for the dissident, there is a Davidian sycophant making the emperor handsome. I thought a great deal about within which category to place Edward Burtynsky, who is perhaps the most famous artist in this show. His Alberta Oil Sands, Fort McMurray, Alberta series – and his own ambiguity – are a good jumping off point. His own words state: “In no way can one encompass the influence and extended landscape of this thing we call ‘oil’.”4
But let’s set the scene: at the opening of a show with artists from ‘here’ and ‘away’5. We had a Sask Party Minister asserting that the premier, and all of his fellow ideologues, value “Art” greatly, pimping Culture Days with glee. I truly had a Brigitte DePape moment, but lacked any offending sign to remind them of the ideologically motivated, financially suspect destruction of the Sask Film Tax Credit.6 This is probably for the best, lest I experience “a new prison camp for subversives”7. Perhaps it’s best if I confine myself to speaking about the works in the show: and there are many amazing pieces, beautiful and sad, engaging and enraging, in this exhibition.