Off-Site Exhibits
Canada Line Stations
April 1, 2022 - February 28, 2023
Kyla Bourgh: Objects given to my mom because she is Asian
Location: Lansdowne Station
Presented in partnership with Capture Photography Festival and the Canada Line Public Art Program – InTransitBC
Kyla Bourgh’s installation at Lansdowne Station presents objects that have been given to the artist’s mother over the past fifty years. Each object is associated with an “Asian style” and was gifted to her because of her physical and cultural identity. Bourgh’s work highlights that, while the gifts were given to her mother in kindness, they unwittingly reminded her that she is and always will be perceived as a visible minority in her farming community in rural British Columbia. Through this work, the artist considers the unconscious biases placed on her mother and how they differ from the artist’s own lived experience as someone of mixed ethnicity who is white “passing.” The photographed objects exist in an unclear cultural locale that challenges the viewer to unpack their own prejudices and perspectives. From within the diverse mix of cultures present in Richmond and in Canada at large, Bourgh’s work raises questions about the dichotomy many people face between having a sense of belonging and of being stereotyped within a country where many of their families have resided for several generations. Curated by Richmond Art Gallery in partnership with Richmond Public Art.
April 1, 2022 - February 28, 2023
Chad Wong: Empty Spaces that Fill My Heart
Location: Aberdeen Station
Presented in partnership with Capture Photography Festival and the Canada Line Public Art Program – InTransitBC
Empty Spaces that Fill My Heart is a photographic diptych connecting Richmond and Vancouver’s Chinatowns. In this work, Chad Wong presents abstracted fragments of the awnings and hallways of the Hong Kong-style cafes and Chinese Canadian malls he grew up visiting. The images contemplate how various modes of representation in architecture and shared cultural spaces shape the narrative and identity of a community. Wong is a second-generation Canadian whose family immigrated to Richmond from Hong Kong. Since the 1990s, a steady stream of Chinese newcomers has arrived to the Lower Mainland, initially from Hong Kong and now more predominantly from Mainland China. This body of work explores the fading signs and symbols of the Hong Kongese/Cantonese Chinese Canadian cultural urbanscapes of both Richmond and Vancouver. The uniqueness of these malls and restaurants – which have become visible icons in the Lower Mainland – exists in their blend of Eastern and Western influences. These spaces are now slowly disappearing, and the artist views them as a last vestige of his connection to Hong Kong. He felt an urgency to document and preserve these Chinese Canadian sites that are on the precipice of gentrification as demographics shift. Sited at Aberdeen Station, the works occupy a location that is a significant space for Chinese Canadian businesses and cultural manifestation. Curated by Richmond Art Gallery in partnership with Richmond Public Art.
Read the full press release