In conjunction with Queen’s University’s 175th anniversary and a cross-faculty series on Big Data (BD175), the Agnes presents two major art works that speak to the dataverse. Information about these pieces, which are drawn from the Agnes collection, may be found here.
Right: Agnes Director Jan Allen in front of the installation of Dave Kemp’s Data Collection. Photo: Tim Forbes
Dave Kemp, Data CollectionThis multi-part work from the Agnes collection by artist and Queen’s alumnus Dave Kemp (BSc ENG, 1997) complements the “Big Data 175” series of talks and events this fall and winter term. The piece probes individual attitudes to privacy through photo portraits of the wallet contents of 101 subjects. Each card represents a database, a striking and familiar mix of public/governmental and corporate caches.
Detail view of Dave Kemp, Data Collection, 2009. Photographic installation; inkjet prints on Sintra, 28.9 x 40.3 cm (each of 101 parts). Gift of the artist, 2012 (55-008a-gggg)
Wally Dion, Seated ThunderbirdFor artist Wally Dion (Saulteaux), the creation of an ancient sacred being from discarded computer processors reflects the renewal of enduring flows of power. Thunderbird takes on new forms for successive generations. His Thunderbird series is a reflection upon Indigenous systems of thought and their continuing relevance in the contemporary world.
Wally Dion, Seated Thunderbird, 2015. Circuit boards on plywood, nails, acrylic medium and pigment. 104.0 x 122.0 x 5.7 cm. Purchase, Art Centre Acquisitions Trust, 2015 (58-011)
The Surveillance Studies Centre
c/o David Murakami Wood
Department of Criminology
University of Ottawa
Canada