![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.artoronto.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/rsz_kwe_7.jpg\" "\\"OLYMPUS")
<\/a>Rebecca Belmore, artist, <\/em>2014.\u00a0Photograph by Scott Benesiinaabandan. Photo: Summer Sun.<\/p>\nPerhaps, the most successful piece in the show is Belmore\u2019s artist<\/em>, photographed by Scott Benesiinaabandan. The photograph portrays a somewhat anonymous labourer who stands upon an electric box with an orange construction tarp as a backdrop. The labourer, who the viewer can assume is the artist, Belmore, is wearing an orange uniform that has an \u201cX\u201d on the back. While this photograph appears simple, it deals with the deep issue of the marginalization of the individual in society such as, the artists, the labourer or First Nations people. The most astonishing aspect of this image, however, is the composition and how easily the photo can be reduced into rectangles, lines and colour. There is nothing convoluted or precocious about this photo; it is a statement – simple and clear.<\/p>\n While artist<\/em> is clear and allows the viewer to pick up subtle hints, Mixed Blessing<\/em> is perhaps too literal. The sculpture depicts an individual clad in a black hoody, crouching on the ground. The person\u2019s face is obscured by thick black hair which pools around the body like a halo. The back of the hoody has two statements that intersect. Horizontally it reads \u201cFuckin Indian\u201d, and vertically it reads \u201cFuckin Artist.\u201d The two statements are joined by the red \u201cN\u201d they share in \u201cFuckin.\u201d The sculpture is angst ridden and so wrapped up in self-pity that it is hard to comprehend the true and serious intentions of the work.<\/p>\n Untitled #1, #2<\/em> and #3 <\/em>all have a similar issue. Each photograph is of a woman suspended off a white wall wrapped in white sheets. The pieces are beautifully positioned, creating awkward and intriguing forms. However, the symbolism and concept of constraining the body to represent outer constraints on the individual is simply clich\u00e9 no matter how well executed by the artist.<\/p>\n The piece Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to their Mother<\/em> is majestic in its construction and intention, but the work is unsuited to the space. The piece was created as a response to the \u201cOka Crisis,\u201d when a land dispute erupted between First Nations and the Canadian Government. The Mohawk Nations were attempting to defend their ceremonial and burial grounds from being converted into a golf course. Belmore created a giant megaphone of birch bark and wood, and the speaker\u2019s voice is meant to reverberate throughout the land, reminding Aboriginals of their heritage and connection to the land. The seven feet long and at the mouth six feet wide megaphone seem to be out of its element within the walls of the gallery. Speaking to their Mother<\/em> had been ripped of its roots to be put on display within the formal and cramped setting.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0Rebecca Belmore, Mixed Blessing<\/em>, 2011. Front (top) and back (bottom)\u00a0view. Photo: Summer Sun.<\/p>\n<\/a>Rebecca Belmore, <\/em>Untitled #1<\/em>, #2, #3,<\/em>\u00a02004.<\/p>\n<\/a>Rebecca Belmore, Ayum-ee-aawach Oomama-mowan: Speaking to their Mother, <\/em>1991. Photo: Summer Sun.<\/p>\n