Manuel Axel Strain is a 2-Spirit artist from the lands and waters of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Simpcw and Syilx peoples, based in the sacred region of their q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie) and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) relatives. Strain’s mother is Tracey Strain and father is Eric Strain. Tracey’s parents are Harold Eustache (from Chuchua) and Marie Louis (from nk̓maplqs). Eric’s parents are Helen Point (from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) and John Strain (from Ireland). Although they attended Emily Carr University of Art + Design, they prioritize Indigenous epistemologies through the embodied knowledge of their mother, father, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and ancestors. Their work has been exhibited at Burrard Arts Foundation, Vancouver Art Gallery, Unit 17, Richmond Art Gallery, Surrey Art Gallery, UBC Okanagan Gallery, Neutral Ground, University of Saskatchewan Art Galleries and they were longlisted for the 2022 Sobey Award and was a recipient of the 2022 Portfolio Prize.
Please join us outside in front of the gallery to witness Audrey Siegl responding to what do you know? by Manuel Axel Strain. Both artists will be in attendance.
Commissioned for the outdoor screen, Manuel Axel Strain’s work comprises three segments that layer voices and locations across space and time. As part of the installation, the video is surrounded by an in situ painting that evokes a power that is traced to different memories, stories and places.
Manuel Axel Strain is a 2-Spirit artist from the lands and waters of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Simpcw and Syilx peoples, based in the sacred region of their q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie) and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) relatives. Strain’s mother is Tracey Strain and father is Eric Strain. Tracey’s parents are Harold Eustache (from Chuchua) and Marie Louis (from nk̓maplqs). Eric’s parents are Helen Point (from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) and John Strain (from Ireland). Although they attended Emily Carr University of Art + Design, they prioritize Indigenous epistemologies through the embodied knowledge of their mother, father, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and ancestors. Their work has been exhibited at Burrard Arts Foundation, Vancouver Art Gallery, Unit 17, Richmond Art Gallery, Surrey Art Gallery, UBC Okanagan Gallery, Neutral Ground, University of Saskatchewan Art Galleries and they were longlisted for the 2022 Sobey Award and was a recipient of the 2022 Portfolio Prize.
Manuel Axel Strain's what do you know? (2023) will screen on the Belkin's outdoor screen beginning 14 July 2023 between 9 am and 9 pm daily. Strain's work across painting, installation, video and performance is grounded by the interconnectedness of land and water in relation to family, kin and ancestors. The collaboration with relatives and their shared experiences with Indigeneity, labour, resource extraction, gender and medicine are sources of agency that resonate through the work.
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