Burnaby Art Gallery (BAG) present Betrayal at Babylon, a new installation by Vancouver-based mixed media artist Keith Langergraber that will be held at the gallery from September 9 to October 23, 2016.
Investigating the impermanence of language and the complexity of human myth-making, the exhibition merges historical and fictionalized narratives set in British Columbia and beyond.
Reinterpreting the biblical Tower of Babel as a western mine and ghost town, Langergraber’s sculptural work fuses spiral train tunnels, dilapidated rigging systems and downed power lines. The show incorporates a series of large-scale mixed media works on paper, scraps of handwritten journal entries, detailed drawings of fossils and relics, and maps of natural terrain and settlements.
For the project, Langergraber worked with Carl Alexander, an elder from the Nxwísten (Bridge River) Indian Band in Lillooet to explore traditional St’át’imcets place names and provide an account of the impact of industry—dams, forestry, mining and the railroad—in the region.
Double Negative, Double Whammy (2016), a short film by Langergraber, screens as part of the show – following a gang of meteorite hunters across a surreal landscape, the film draws on motifs from sci-fi, western and disaster film genres. A mythic tektite meteorite also stands on display.
Betrayal at Babylon examines not only the construction of language, but also demonstrates the limitations of language in conveying environmental issues that have occurred through natural forces over time as well as through more recent human-driven exploits.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
- Opening Reception | Thursday, September 8 | 7-9pm | FREE
- In the BAG: Family Sundays | 1-4pm | FREE
- Sunday, September 11 – Drawing Spaces
- Sunday, October 9 – Mapping Terrains
- Artist Talk + Film Screening | Saturday, September 10 | 2pm | FREE
- Art Tour Tuesday | Tuesday, September 20 | 12:15pm | $5 | NEW PROGRAM
- Tour & Tea | Tuesday, September 20 | 2pm | $7.50 | NEW PROGRAM
- One Place, Many Names Talk | Sunday, September 25 | 2pm | FREE
- Culture Days Guided Tour | Sunday, October 2 | 2pm | FREE
To learn more about the Keith Langergraber exhibition and other shows at the Burnaby Art Gallery, you can visit their webpage.