Opening Date
Thu, Mar 14, 2013 8pm
Live performances by Impossible Nothing a.k.a Darwin Frost, ELIZA-EMC, Lindsay Delronde (Mohawk Nation) and Margaret Briere (Shishalh Nation)
COYOTE X is a four screen video projection installation that evokes issues of land ownership and cultural survival through the presence of Coyote, who acts as metaphor and messenger.
Coyote’s historical and cultural significance across Native nations is as trickster, a figure that both learns from his mistakes and complicates matters. Its fundamental nature provides a unique perspective: Coyote mirrors our own actions of adaptation and survival, standing like us in the shadow of a dominant society, amid urban sprawls, colonial ramifications and the realities of expansion. His evolving presence in the land represents a convergence of nature, tradition and society within the spaces he historically occupies.
The contingent environment Coyote inhabits echoes our society’s precarious existence on occupied traditional territories. The serene forest, Coyote’s sanctum, has become a place of chaotic discord and unmanageable transition. Like us, Coyote finds himself walking through a shifting landscape of competing interests and hidden dangers. Living by his wits in the edgelands, raiding and retreating, his persistence in the face of the human onslaught is both warning and prophecy.
* Terry passed away on March 2, 2013. In celebration of his life and work, a selection of Terry’s previous works will be on display in the VIVO reception area.
VIVO is located in the homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples in a warehouse space at 2625 Kaslo Street south of East Broadway at the end of E 10th. Transit line 9 stops at Kaslo Street on Broadway. From the bus stop, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight decline. The closest skytrain station is Renfrew Station, which is three blocks south-east of VIVO and has an elevator. From there, the path is paved, curbless, and on a slight incline. There is parking available at VIVO, including wheelchair access parking. There is a bike rack at the entrance. The front entrance leads indoors to a set of 7 stairs to the lobby.
A wheelchair ramp is located at the west side of the main entrance. The ramp has two runs: the first run is 20 feet long, and the second run is 26 feet. The ramp is 60 inches wide. The slope is 1:12. The ramp itself is concrete and has handrails on both sides. There is an outward swinging door (34 inch width) at the top of the ramp leading to a vestibule. A second outward swinging door (33 inch width) opens into the exhibition space. Buzzers and intercoms are located at both doors to notify staff during regular office hours or events to unlock the doors. Once unlocked, visitors can use automatic operators to open the doors.
There are two all-gender washrooms. One has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The other is a single room with a urinal and is wheelchair accessible: the door is 33 inches wide and inward swinging, without automation. The toilet has 11 inch clearance on the left side and a handrail.
To reach the bathrooms from the studio, exit through the double doors and proceed straight through the lobby and down the hall . Turn left, and the two bathrooms will be on your right side. The closest one has a stall and is not wheelchair accessible. The far bathroom is accessible.
Terry Haines was a multi-disciplinary artist of Secwepemc/Welsh- Tsilhqot'in/French ancestry. His practice, rooted in storytelling, addresses social and cultural issues impacting First Nations as well as our treatment of the environment. His short videos and installations have been exhibited and screened across Canada, the USA, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Germany and Mexico. Terry passed away on March 2, 2013.