Brian Jungen

BIO: Brian Jungen (born April 29, 1970 in Fort St. John, British Columbia) is an artist of Dane-Zaa and Swiss ancestry living and working in the North Okanagan of British Columbia. Working in a diverse range of two and three dimensional materials "Jungen is widely regarded as a leading member of a new generation of Vancouver artists". While Indigeneity and identity politics have been central to much of his work, Jungen has many other themes and foci that run through his oeuvre. His work addresses many audiences' misconception that "native artists are not allowed to do work that is not about First Nations identity", by making poetic artworks that defy categorization.

adapted from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jungen

Series: Prototypes for New Understanding

THEMES:

commercialism
ethical economies & trade
globalization
consumerism
identity
racial pigeon-holing: expectations

"Throughout his career Jungen has created poetic artworks which explore a diversity of themes through their openness to multiple interpretations and have "resisted the trap of racial pigeon-holing". Jungen's work makes "connections between his First Nations ancestry, Western art history and the global economy". His breakout series Prototypes for New Understanding was loaded with enough clues to "[allow] writers to connect the dots between globalization, Nike's Third World sweat shops, and Canada's institutionalized" colonial racism. Several themes have been consistently pursued throughout his career including museology, consumerism/ globalization, identity politics and animals."

Adapted from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Jungen

Article on the Exhibit:

https://stutikakar.com/2016/06/27/brian-jungen-prototypes-for-new-understanding/