Archeological Apathy

In partnership with 8eleven

Patrick Cruz, the recent winner of RBC’s Canadian Painting Competition, presents Archeological Apathy a solo exhibit opening at 8 11 Gallery (November 10 – 30, 2016) that speaks to fictional, hybridized, and constructed spaces. By amalgamating bought industrial cement with soil sourced from the backyard of the host venue, Cruz’s sculptures mimic ancient tools and artifacts common to actual sites of excavation. The digging and extraction of soil from 8-11 Gallery’s backyard will serve as a performative element within the exhibition and further accentuates the disconnect between mythical narratives from real events.

Archeological Apathy delineates the problematics of empirical study on human material culture and cultural landscapes. Apathy here is not a lack of interest to speculate and study but, rather, posed as a misguided and meandering assessment. Taking 8eleven’s courtyard as a point of departure, Cruz uses the site’s ‘natural’ environment to create the work.

Since migrating to Canada, Cruz’s research and art practice have led him to question identity politics and the negotiation of personal historical narratives as sites of productive artistic engagement. His practice tackles issues of representation, ownership and the notion of an identity as being unfixed and hybridized. Archeological Apathy is particularly concerned with the construction, authentication, and dissemination of culture through experimental scientific procedures and anthropological display. The project offers alternative ways to perceive and interpret culture, whether real or imagined. Archeological Apathy is Cruz’s first solo show in Toronto. Exhibition text prepared by Rudrapriya Rathore.

Patrick Cruz is a Filipino-Canadian multidisciplinary artist. He holds an MFA from the University of Guelph and a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Cruz’s experience migrating from the Philippines to Canada informs his studio practice, prompting him to question notions of displacement, diaspora and the adoption of a new cultural identity. In 2015, Cruz was awarded the first prize at the 17th Annual RBC Canadian Painting Competition. Cruz has presented his work across North America, Europe and Asia.

Solo exhibitions include Low class minimalism and the gentrified amateur (2016), Projet Pangeé, Montreal, Canada; Bulaklak ng Paraiso (Flower of paradise) (2016), Centre A, Vancouver, Canada; Goose Egg Sanctuary (2015), Pablo, Taguig, Philippines; Electronic Birthstone (2014), Dynamo Arts Association, Vancouver, Canada; Fresh off the boat (2014), Mulitplex, Portland, USA; West coast Maximalist (2013), Sunset Terrace, Vancouver, Canada; Yin Yang Temple (2011), Unit/Pitt, Vancouver, Canada. Group exhibitions include Survival Guide (upcoming, 2017), Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada; and something like fire dancing (2016), Susan Hobbs, Toronto, Canada; Auto Feeling (2015), Katzman Contemporary, Toronto, Canada; Material Art Fair (2016), Mexico City, Mexico; Dark Side of the Sun (2013), Art Informal, Mandaluyong, Philippines; Radiation (2014), The Art Center of Chulangkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Welcome to Sax Island (2012), Or Gallery Berlin, Berlin, Germany and Collage Drop Outs (2011), Finale Art File, Makati, Philippines.

Rudrapriya Rathore was born in New Delhi and grew up in Calcutta and Toronto. She holds a joint honours BA in English and Creative Writing from Concordia University and is currently pursuing an MA at U of T. She won the Irving Layton Award for Fiction in 2014 and has work published or forthcoming in the Hart House Review, The Puritan, The Walrus, Minola Review, and elsewhere. A recipient of a SSHRC grant during her graduate studies, she is interested in writing that blurs the lines between genres of prose, poetry, and nonfiction.