Two exhibitions opening at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MJMAG) this month may occupy separate spaces, but visitors moving between them will quickly discover they are not entirely separate experiences.
Rather than existing independently, Stilled Lives was intentionally curated to create an ongoing conversation with artist Alison Norlen’s exhibition Odyssey, resulting in what museum director and curator Jennifer McRorie described as a close relationship between the two spaces.
“The Stilled Lives exhibition was curated to create a dialogue with Alison Norlen’s Odyssey, and because her drawings are full of household objects that have been collected as memorabilia and everyday objects that you surround yourself with, we thought that it would be interesting to (draw from the museum collection),” she said.
Both exhibitions opened May 22 and continue through Aug. 16.
A dialogue between exhibitions
McRorie described the relationship as a “cross-pollination” between the spaces, where objects, themes, and ideas move between exhibitions rather than remaining confined to a single gallery.
While Norlen incorporated objects from her own home into Odyssey, museum artifacts and collection pieces also found their way into her installation.
At the same time, Norlen contributed objects of her own to Stilled Lives, including her taxidermy turkey, which became part of a museum-created still life arrangement.
“It’s very closely tied, which isn’t always the case,” McRorie noted.
Wall colours selected for Stilled Lives were chosen partly to reflect colours appearing within Norlen’s work, further reinforcing the conversation between the spaces. McRorie said the palette also drew inspiration from traditional museum colours associated with institutions such as the Louvre, reworked into more vibrant tones that connected back to Norlen’s exhibition.
The result creates an experience where visitors moving between galleries encounter exhibitions that continually inform one another.
Looking beyond traditional still life
Drawn from both the museum’s art and heritage collections, Stilled Lives combines historic and contemporary works while incorporating traditional Vanitas themes, where carefully arranged objects can symbolize both the pleasures and temporary nature of life.
McRorie said the process also led her to reconsider the traditionally European roots of still life.
“Still life is very Eurocentric as a subject matter,” she said. “That’s why I started thinking it would be really interesting to have an Indigenous perspective on still life (exhibits).”
New perspectives
Among the featured works is Two-Eyed Seeing by Métis artist David Garneau, one of the museum’s newest acquisitions. Garneau’s work combines objects associated with Indigenous and Western ways of knowing, creating dialogue between differing perspectives. Featuring a cow skull stacked atop a bison skull, the work draws on symbolism connected to colonial history and the displacement of bison while exploring ideas surrounding reconciliation.
Other pieces push beyond conventional still life entirely. Joanne Lyons’ Needful Things examines themes of consumerism and excess through imagery connected to second-hand objects and discarded belongings, while Clint Neufeld’s Alternator transforms a mechanical car component into a decorative object that challenges assumptions about utility and meaning.
Alongside Odyssey and Stilled Lives, MJMAG is also presenting With Pride: Honouring the Legacy of Doug Townsend, celebrating works by artists of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities while recognizing Townsend’s contributions to Saskatchewan artists and arts communities.
For McRorie, the exhibitions ultimately ask visitors to think not only about art itself, but about the objects people choose to preserve and the stories they carry with them.
The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery is located at 461 Langdon Crescent and can be reached at 306-692-4471. For more information, visit MJMAG.ca.
Aaron Walker
Reporter
Moose Jaw Express
