A pair of new exhibits are on display at the Art Gallery of Sudbury through until Oct. 29.
When Raven Became Spider, located in Gallery I, brings together works by six Indigenous artists who combine comic book images with figures and symbols from traditional and contemporary Indigenous culture.
The title of the exhibition, When Raven Became Spider, takes its name from contributing artist Sonny Assu’s works depicting Raven revealing himself as Spiderman.
Other artists contributing to the exhibition include Joi T. Arcand, Julianne Herney, Shaun Beyale, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Jeffrey Veregge.
By connecting the characters of Indigenous symbolism with comic book aesthetics, When Raven Became Spider is a demonstration of generations being influenced by pop culture, while still incorporating elements from traditional culture. The art works on display offer traditional stories as a form of resurgence that will engage and connect with every audience, no matter what their idea of a superhero might be.
Douglas Bornn Photographs: An Exploration of Train Cars and Graffiti, located in Gallery II, features a series of photographs that explores the relationship between the train cars, graffiti, colours and lighting.
“The subject of this recent series of photographs would appear to be train graffiti, and initially it was,” said Bornn.
“It changed when I started looking and thinking about a particular photo I had taken and realized that there was more going on in this image than just a simple record of graffiti.
“I had moved in to take a closer view including little more than the elements of the painted image that I was interested in. Once at the computer I found that I had a photograph that integrated the graffiti and the train car allowing them to play one against the other.”
The Art Gallery of Sudbury is located at 251 John St. The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
