Project credits: Commissioned as part of Navigating History (www.navigating-history.net) a collaboration between Proboscis (www.proboscis.org.uk ) and Deborah Smith with East Sussex Record Office in Lewes, Folkestone Library & Museum, West Sussex Local Studies Collection in Worthing Library. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, Creative Partnerships Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex and Kent County Councils and The Canada Council for the Arts.
Canadian independent artist, writer and curator Andrew Hunter will present one of his recent narrative history projects, Lalla Rookh: A Poetic Archive produced as part of the innovative archive project Navigating History for the West Sussex Local Studies Collection in Worthing Library (England). Combining a temporary site installation, web site, artist’s multiple and permanent art work now housed in the Worthing collection, the project captures Hunter’s approach to working with historical material that combines oral history, story-telling, site documentation and the fabrication of “artifacts.” Hunter’s project is a poetic memorial to the “Brave Eleven,” a small group of Worthing fishermen who drowned in a futile attempt to come to the aid of the ship Lalla Rookh that foundered in distress November 25th, 1850. The ship Lalla Rookh would recover and sail on but the local community would be marked by the tragedy for generations. Hunter employs the traditional tools of the library and archive to explore a range of narratives flowing out of the Lalla Rookh tragedy, weaving together personal and local history, ideas of empire and the “Orientalism” that fueled Thomas Moore’s epic poem (from which the ship took its name) along with symbols of death and morning long associated with maritime life. Lalla Rookh: A Poetic Archive emphasizes a dialogue between the local and the global, the immediate and the distant that, while rooted in history, continues to resonate. Andrew Hunter has produced exhibitions, publications and writings for public museums across Canada in the United States and England. He is known for his innovative use of collections, his explorations of history and his commitment to creating projects that are engaging and accessible to broad audiences. Hunter has produced a distinct body of work, consistently emphasizes a broader vision of art, embracing social, cultural and environmental issues and exploring nationalism, myths and popular culture. Writing and innovative publication design have always been a key component of his work and a selection of his published work will be available at The Best in Heritage along with complimentary copies of the Lalla Rookh multiple. Hunter’s projects include Up North: A Northern Ontario Tragedy (Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, 1997- 98), Convergence (Winnipeg Art Gallery/Art Gallery of Peel, 1998), Ding Ho/Group of Seven (with Gu Xiong, The Best in Heritage 2005 59 McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Mendel Art Gallery, 2000-2001), Billy’s Vision (Mendel Art Gallery, Dunlop Art Gallery, Walter Phillips Gallery, National Gallery of Canada, 2000-2002), Stand By Your Man (Art Gallery of Hamilton, Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Edmonton Art Gallery, 2001-2002), In the Pines (Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, 2001), The Donnelly Project (Museum London and Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 2002-2003), Peake’s Folly (Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 2003), Giddy Up! (Walter Phillips Gallery, 2004), Hanksville (Mendel Art Gallery, 2004), Heart-Shaped Box (City of Toronto, 2005) and Up Jumped the Devil (Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery, 2005). Hunter has curated numerous exhibitions of contemporary art and his major historical projects include Lawren Harris: A Painter’s Progress (Americas Society Art Gallery, New York, 2000), Tom Thomson (Art Gallery of Ontario and National Gallery of Canada, with Charles Hill and Dennis Reid, 2003), Come A Singing! (Edmonton Art Gallery, McMichael Canadian Art Collection and MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2003-2004), The Other Landscape (Edmonton Art Gallery and Mc- Michael Canadian Art Collection, 2003-2004), To a Watery Grave (Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum, 2004) and The Road: Constructing the Alaska Highway (Edmonton Art Gallery with Catherine Crowston). His projects currently in development include: The Good Fight: Imagining the Great War and JUMBO!: The Sad End of the Biggest Elephant in the World. Hunter has held curatorial positions at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Kamloops Art Gallery and Vancouver Art Gallery and has been Adjunct Curator with the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and Museum and the McMichael Canadian Art Collection. He has published numerous essays on his own practice including The Wandering Boy (BlackFlash Magazine, Fall 2001), Speaking of Billy in The Edge of Everything: Reflections on Curatorial Practice (The Banff Centre Press, 2002) and Hanksville (BlackFlash Magazine, Fall 2004, which won the Western Canada Magazine Award for writing on Art and Culture).
