“Pahgedenaun” on now at Carleton University Art Gallery
Sandra Dyck curates exhibition on Robert Houle
Carleton University Art Gallery presents Pahgedenaun, an exhibition celebrating the work of Saulteaux artist Robert Houle. The exhibition, which runs January 15 to April 29, 2018, brings together a recent collection of drawings and paintings that explore the traumas Houle experienced as a child, attending the Sandy Bay Residential School.
The Saulteaux word pahgedenaun can be loosely translated in English as “letting it go from your mind.” While working on the Sandy Residential School Series, Houle spoke to himself out loud in Saulteaux, which became a personal form of decolonizing the self. Pahgedenaun is embodied in this deeply personal series, which incorporates memory, truth-telling, and healing.
The ACI title Robert Houle: Life & Work by Shirley Madill will be released in May 2018.
Robert Houle, Sandy Bay Residential School Series (The Morning), 2009, oilstick on paper, one of twenty-four drawings, each 58.4 x 76.2 cm or 76.2 x 58.4 cm, School of Art Gallery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.