The Lay of the Land presents MacDonald’s newest body of work. A member of the recently recognized Qalipu Mi’qmak First Nation MacDonald tackles the legacy of cultural erasure and assimilation, cautiously moving forward with their current practice questioning what can and cannot be claimed as part of their own struggle and narrative. Funded by the Canada Council for the Arts MacDonald visited several First Nations communities across Canada, documenting methods used to assert Indigenous autonomy and resist encroachments on First Nation land.

MacDonald’s work often uses geographical concerns as a means of addressing identity. They last showed at Eastern Edge Gallery in Welcome to Gayside as part of The Third Leg collective in 2006. The exhibition that was a response to Baytona, Newfoundland changing its name from Gayside in 1985, due to the change in meaning of the word gay, and the negative reception the word invoked at the peak of the AIDS crisis. The work presented was rowdy, defiant, and jubilant. Returning to Eastern Edge eleven years later with Lay of the Land, the tone in their work has become more pensive.

 In their original proposal, they described this new body of work as a return to “identity politics that have in part manifested as a result of Newfoundland”. Through conversation with MacDonald Camille Georgeson-Usher; whose grandfather is Coast Salish from the Penelakut nation and grandmother is Dene from Aklavik; has written a companion piece for the exhibition titled Intentionality.

Several video screenings of work by prominent Canadian Indigenous artists have been assembled to further complement and contextualize MacDonald’s work. Each of the programmed videos was selected on how it resonated with the political landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The series of screenings have been divided into two categories that represent recurring concerns within MacDonald’s practice: Identity, and Land.  Although the format of these screenings implies there exists a natural division between oneself and the space one occupies; this is flawed and not a position MacDonald takes within their work. However, for the films it allows a launching point for discussing Logan’s work within a larger cultural context.  

 Jason Penney, 2017

Complimentary Film Screenings

Screening Saturday October 28th at 4:30pm:
The Group of Seven Inches by Kent Monkman
Her Sugar Is? by Dana Claxton
2 Spirit Dreamcatcher Dot Com by Thirza Cuthand

Ongoing loop for the duration of the exhibition:
Miss Chief: Justice of the Piece by Kent Monkman
Naked Island Detention by Elle-Maija Tailfeathers and David Seitz
This River by Erika MacPherson and Katherena Vermette
It’s Not Your Fault by Raven Davis
Terre Neuve: LANDSCAPE by Logan MacDonald