Printed in 2007
Exhibition Dates: May 3 - June 7, 2008
This is the gallery’s first exhibition as representative for Ottawa-based Onondaga artist Jeff Thomas. Thomas is well known for his studies of Indianness in which he investigates the legacy of Canadian historical monuments, the currency of cigar store Indians and kneeling braves of Bank of Montreal building pedestals. Thomas proves these images are far from static. Seen from his perspective, the evidence of First Peoples’ influence on popular culture and their power within contemporary society is abundant. His photographs explore the symbolic juxtapositions of past and present, historical imagery and contemporary reality, in the relationship of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in North America. Drive-by, which includes five projects, suggests a road trip of inter-cultural exploration with Thomas at the wheel.
