The Wall

The Wall features the work of eleven Canadian artists who refer to borders, boundaries, and walls in their work as sites of history, containment, oppression, and transition. Living in a country in which most cities are along the border, Canadians have a unique perspective on national and political boundaries. No where is this more evident that in Windsor, Ontario where the United States almost surrounds the city across the Detroit River. As Canada and the US reevaluate its border in response to perceived terrorist threats, many countries are building walls in response to territorial disputes, migration, and ideological differences. New barriers are currently being built between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the United States and Mexico, India and Pakistan. In this exhibition, artists from the Windsor/Detroit region, inclduing Chris McNamara and Marcel O’Gorman, draw on their everyday experiences crossing the border in their work. José Seoane, who teaches at the Univeersity of Windsor, but lives in Toronto and Havan, incoporates peep holes into paintings that evoke a culture of survellance. Other artists in The Wall include Richard Dyck and Jennifer Stillwell (Winnipeg), Isabelle Hayeur (Montreal), Luis Jacob (Toronto) and Jamelie Hassan, Ron Benner and Troy Ouellette (London, Ontario).