Offsite, curated by Kathleen Ritter, is the new exhibition by Kota Ezawa on view at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Artist Kota Ezawa’s diverse projects take the form of digital animations, slide projections, lightboxes, paper cut-outs, intaglio etchings, ink drawings and wood sculptures. Using well-known images from the history of photography, film and the popular media, Ezawa’s pared down renderings speak to the iconic status of photography.
For Offsite, Ezawa’s large-scale wooden tableau pictures a group of people raising their hands to vote in what appears to be a town hall meeting. The work is a visual representation of democracy by one of its most prevalent signifiers: the vote. By eliminating details, the image refers less to a specific group of individuals, and more to a general sign of a collective body united in a common purpose. In light of recent events in which demands for societal reform have become apparent both in Canada and abroad, Ezawa’s portrait of democracy could not be more timely.
For more information, please visit www.vanartgallery.bc.ca
Image: Kota Ezawa. Hand Vote, 2008, wood and paint. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Ryan Thayer. Source www.vanartgallery.bc.ca