Richmond Art Gallery (RAG) is thrilled to present two dynamic exhibitions from April 20 to June 30, 2024: Unit Bruises featuring Theodore Saskatche Wan and Paul Wong, guest curated by Michael Dang, and The Marble in the Basement, a solo show by Hazel Meyer, curated by Zoë Chan. 

“These two exhibitions share parallel interests in archives and the queering of art histories,” says Chan. “At the same time, they articulate these concerns very differently. Unit Bruises contextualizes the production of artworks by two Asian-Canadian artists working during the predominantly white Canadian art scenes of the 1970s. And The Marble in the Basement pays tribute to the iconic Canadian artist Joyce Wieland—who ultimately functions as a point of departure for larger considerations around legacy, ownership, and collecting.”

Unit Bruises brings together the work of photographer Wan (b.1953–d.1987) and multimedia artist Wong (b.1954), two contemporaries in the small art world of 1970s Vancouver. Both Chinese-Canadian artists turned the camera onto themselves in explorations of the body within the then still-new genre of performance art. Though these works are nearly half a century old, they respectively address issues that continue to resonate in today’s sociopolitical climate, particularly given the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes.

The exhibition is named after Wong and collaborator Kenneth Fletcher’s 60 Unit; Bruise (1976), documenting the “ritualized” withdrawal of Fletcher’s blood inserted into Wong’s back via a syringe. Combined with a companion piece titled 50/50 (1976/2024) long believed to have been lost, the video will be shown as a newly re-edited work entitled Blood Brother (1976/2024). Wong’s photographic series 7 Day Activity (1977) will also be featured, marking the first time it has been exhibited since 1978. 

Wan was known for his black-and-white photographs that straddled the line between instructional medical illustrations and Photoconceptualist interventions. His well-known Bound By Everyday Necessities II, in which he performed as a “patient” in a series of medically accurate photographs, will be on display alongside rarely seen objects from his archive: original drawings, handwritten notes, and photocopies of medical manuals. The exhibition showcases artworks and ephemera on loan from the Vancouver Art Gallery and the private collections of Paul Wong Projects, and Sophie and Christos Dikeakos. 

The Marble in the Basement is a continuation of Hazel Meyer’s multi-year research project, The Weight of Inheritance (2019–ongoing), which examines the legacy of feminist artist and experimental filmmaker Joyce Wieland (b.1930–d.1998). The origin point of this exhibition is a pile of marble scraps found in Wieland’s basement after her death. 

Playfully referencing the marble’s original location, Meyers plans to transform the space of the Gallery into a Basement. Comprising sculptures, drawings, video, and a textile work, the exhibition serves as both an immersive installation and the set for three site-specific performances. The artist and her collaborators, including a cute bug-eyed puppet named Marble, will activate artworks and objects on display as props for the performance. In this ambitious, multifaceted project, Meyer thinks through different kinds of legacies and contemplates bigger questions around artistic value, inheritance, collecting, queer kinship, and official histories. She writes: “What gets stored in a shoebox? Deposited into an archive? Shoved into a corner? Catalogued as important?” 

Unit Bruises is presented with the support of the Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies through the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory in collaboration with the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia. This exhibition is part of the 2024 Capture Photography Festival Selected Exhibition Program.

Public programming

Visit the Gallery’s website and social media for the most up to date information on upcoming programs. Select events include:

Artist and Curator Tour at Opening Reception 

Saturday, April 20  

Artist / Curator Talk & Tour: 2 to 3 p.m.

Opening Reception: 2 to 4 p.m. 

Join Richmond Art Gallery curator Zoë Chan, artist Hazel Meyer, and guest curator Michael Dang for an informal tour of the new exhibitions The Marble in the Basement and Unit Bruises. Opening reception immediately to follow. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Performances by Hazel Meyer

Thursday, May 9, 7 p.m. / Friday, May 10, 7 p.m. / Sunday, May 12, 2 p.m.

Tickets: $5–20 (sliding scale), on sale April 1

Hazel Meyer and her cast of two performers and a bug-eyed puppet called Marble act out The Marble in the Basement, a site-specific performance that uses her installation of the same title as a set. The marble found posthumously in Canadian artist Joyce Wieland’s home becomes a point of departure to think about “inheritance, class, queerness…and what you pass on.”

Artist Talk with Paul Wong

Saturday, May 25, 2 to 3 p.m.

Richmond Cultural Centre Performance Hall

Join exhibiting artist Paul Wong and guest curator Michael Dang in conversation about the early works of Wong and his involvement in Vancouver’s artist-run culture of the 1970s. Registration is encouraged at richmondartgallery.org/upcoming-events.