28ft x 7ft outdoor banner. Photography on vinyl with text.
The artists were invited by Interdisciplinary Media Arts Association/Population of Noise (IMAPON) to create a new work for a large scale banner that will spend the summer hung on the tennis court fence at McBride Park at 3350 4th Ave in Vancouver, British Columbia.
White Liar and the Known Shore: Frobisher and the Queen (2021) examines historical events and aesthetics, challenging contemporary viewers to examine their own place in Arctic colonization. It asks white people and other non-Inuit in Iqaluit, what role they play in the ongoing industry of colonization that exists. Do you know where you are? What is your function in this city? What are you afraid of? How do you address racism within yourself and allow for Inuit decolonization in Iqaluit and Nunavut?
Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory (Inuk) and Jamie Griffiths (British-Canadian) bring together many aspects of the colonial story of Iqaluit challenging viewers to address the racism that perpetuates inequality for Inuit in their own homelands. The photograph is taken on the northern shore of Niaqunnguup Kangiqtunga, an inlet to ‘Frobisher Bay’ in Nunavut. Jamie and Laakkuluk are collaborating artists, both based in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
Acknowledgements:
Papatsi Kotierk – Costumer (Frobisher)
Cat Leahy – Hat Maker
Sheila Papa – Camera Assistant and for all the good living
Janet Brewster – Keeper of Frobisher’s fool’s gold Angela Piccini/Kayle Brandon – Repatriation of Frobisher’s fool’s gold from Bristol to Iqaluit
Williamson Bathory kids – For their patience as they live in covid lockdown circumstances while their parents work.
Stephen Williamson Bathory – for everloving support