Mitchell Art Gallery
Room 11-121, Allard Hall, MacEwan University, 11110 – 104 Avenue NW
Agreement
May 21 – August 23, 2024
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
mitchellartgallery.macewan.ca/amandadunsmore
Amanda Dunsmore, BILLY'S MUSEUM [still], 2004. Video (colour, sound), 19:40 minutes. Courtesy of the Artist
AGREEMENT features artworks from Irish artist Amanda Dunsmore’s research-intensive practice that investigates societal transformation via portraiture.
Following the signing of the Belfast ‘Good Friday’ Agreement on April 10, 1998, Dunsmore began a dedicated practice of filming video portraits of each of the fourteen signatories– a creative process that took two decades to complete. The resulting artwork, AGREEMENT (2004 – 2023) asks for a similarly committed viewership: seeing the work in its entirety would require weekly visits, as each portrait is being screened for a single week during the fourteen-week exhibition.
Over twenty-five years have now passed since the signing of this landmark document, and today, contemporary conflicts are witnessed globally in the form of viral photos and seconds-long videos on social media. Dunsmore’s work asks us to be present in the gallery with each of these portraits that represent divergent perspectives, and to return for weeks, echoing the labour and dedication required by the signatories to keep returning to the table and come to an agreement, and the ongoing work in Irish communities to keep the peace to this day.
Using time-based media, Dunsmore’s work punctuates how there is no shortcut to fully grasping the complex social ruptures left in the wake of colonialism, and how time, relationships, and sustained attention are key ingredients in building trust and understanding in service of positive change.