The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia is hosting an exciting screening of three of Kent Monkman’s films on Thursday, November 15 at 7PM. Featuring Monkman’s anti-colonial, genderqueer alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, the videos rewrite history from an Indigenous perspective with humour and intelligence. These films have very limited distribution: this is a really rare opportunity to see the moving image work of a great multimedia artist.
Shooting Geronimo (2007) turns the colonialism of an early Hollywood film shoot, rife with racist stereotypes, on its head. In the video of Monkman’s performance, Taxonomy of the European Male, Miss Chief takes an anthropological approach, studying the European male in his natural habitat and making some surprising discoveries. And in Mary (2011), Miss Chief is inspired by Mary Magdalene’s biblical foot-washing to tickle the tootsies of the Prince of Wales during his 1860 visit to Montréal – with her characteristic sexy, political irreverence.
The screening is linked to the Monkman exhibit, Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience, ongoing at the Gallery through December 16. The Art Gallery is always free on Thursday evenings from 5PM until closing time at 9PM, thanks to the sponsorship of the Bank of Montreal.
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