As part of the Vancouver Biennale line-up of world-renowned guest artists, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz makes his Canadian debut this Monday (July 21).听In celebration of his upcoming large-scale mosaic land art installation in Squamish, the public is invited to meet the artist in person and learn more about his uniquely inspiring and critically acclaimed work.听
听鈥淭his landmark installation will testify to art鈥檚 ability to transcend boundaries and capture the essential history, landscape and spirit of a community,鈥� said Barrie Mowatt, president of the Vancouver Biennale.听
Muniz is the man behind the Oscar-nominated documentary Waste Land. The Sundance Film Festival winner chronicles Muniz鈥檚 work at a Brazilian junkyard located in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. 听
Working from photographs of the impoverished local garbage-pickers, Muniz creates grand-scale mosaic portraits by re-purposing junkyard scraps. His collaboration with the pickers reveals their essential dignity and humanity through art.
听鈥淢uniz is a master at revealing the character of people in a way that transforms our thinking, our stereotypes and attitudes,鈥� Mowatt said.听
Muniz鈥檚 work can be found in the permanent collections of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in the city of New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Tate Modern in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. 听
In 2001, Muniz was selected to represent Brazil at the 49th Venice Biennale.
From July 21 to August 8, Vik Muniz and his team will be in Squamish working with First Nations groups and the local community to create a grand-scale land mosaic that incorporates local natural materials and imagery into a portrait of a Squamish resident so large that it must be viewed from an elevated platform.听
To volunteer or participate on site in the creation of the project, people are asked to sign up on the Vancouver Biennale website at www.vancouverbiennale.com/support/volunteer/ or call (604) 892-2030.
听The Vancouver Biennale is a non-profit charitable organization that celebrates art in public space. Each exhibit transforms the urban landscape into an open air museum, facilitating globally-inspired cultural experiences where people live, work, play and transit. The Biennale features internationally renowned and emerging contemporary artists that represent a diversity of cultural perspectives and artistic disciplines, including sculpture, new media, performance works and film. It uses great art in creating a catalyst for learning, community engagement and social action.
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Artist welcome line-up
Monday, July 21
Totem Hall
Free, everyone welcome
6:45 P.M.
Welcoming Song by Squamish Nation Drummers and Singers
Salmon and bannock bread appetizers prepared by Squamish Nation
7 p.m.听
screening of Waste Land听
8:55 p.m.
Q&A with Vik Muniz
