Jeff Thomas in the College Art Galleries
Jeff Thomas, Strong Hearts. Returning the Gaze, Joseph Crowe, Saulteaux 1990, photograph, Sioux Valley, Manitoba. Courtesy of the artist.
“I Refuse to be Invisible”
"I Refuse to be Invisible" presents three major bodies of photographic work by artist Jeff Thomas: The Bear Portraits, Indians on Tour and Strong Hearts: Powwow Portraits. Developed over the course of four decades, these photographic suites explore and recontextualize the complex dialogue between historical and contemporary representations of Indigenous identity in photography, while simultaneously investigating the absence of images produced by Indigenous people.
About the artist & organization
Jeff Thomas identifies as urban Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) and is a photographer, curator, and cultural theorist. Born in the city of Buffalo, New York, Thomas currently works and lives in Ottawa, Ontario. Thomas’ parents and grandparents were born on the Six Nations of The Grand River Territory and left the reserve in the 1940s to find work in Buffalo.
The College Art Galleries opened in 2005 as part of a significant renovation to the Peter Mackinnon Administration Building. The galleries present various exhibitions – from national touring shows to those curated from the University of Saskatchewan Art Collection – with a special emphasis on contemporary Canadian practices.
Photo: Carey Shaw
LOcation: administration building
Find all Nuit Blanche Eve projects at the University of Saskatchewan campus. See the full map for more details.
