Juan Zavaleta: "The Degradation of Ourselves" Jan 13 - Feb 24Paul McAllister

rtist Talk - Saturday, Jan 15, 2 p.m.

Exhibition runs Jan 13 til Feb 24!

PRESS RELEASE (VISUAL ARTS)

January 6, 2011 

Gallery Connexion is pleased to announce the opening of The Degradation of Ourselves, a full reference of Slaughterhouse & Souls of God (get back to us) by artist Juan Zavaleta. An opening reception is scheduled for Thursday, January 13 at 7pm. Zavaleta will give an artist talk on Saturday, January 15 at 2pm. The public is invited to attend both events located at Gallery Connexion in the Chestnut Complex at 440 York Street, Fredericton NB.

Slaughterhouse & Souls of God (get back to us) has previously shown at ACCESS Artist Run Centre in Vancouver, BC in 2007 (please see attached Exhibition Review by Robin Laurence) and at Rawvission Galleria in Brandon, MB in 2008. It is an installation of blood-spattered materials, uniforms, and gloves worn by the artist while working on the kill floor of a Maple Leaf Pork Plant in Brandon, MB. At this particular mega-plant, Zavaleta saw approximately 10,000 hogs slaughtered each day, the process geared only to producing the highest numbers possible with little regard to humane practice. Viewers will be confronted with a representation of the conditions under which these massive deaths occur and the environment the employees are subject to. As a recent immigrant to Canada, Zavaleta refers to his job at the Maple Leaf Pork Plant from 2002 to 2004 as a form of human slavery that affected him both physically and mentally. The Degradation of Ourselves is a body of work representing his challenging experience.

For the past twenty years, Zavaleta has been working on projects that deal with human behavior and conduct, specifically our tendency to repeat ourselves to our detriment. His work explores human instinct towards violence and eroticism. Throughout the 1990s, he was a member of SEMEFO, the Mexican collective of artists that investigates the aesthetics of death through disturbing sculptural installations. He is an advocate for workers’ rights and actively challenges The Establishment.

The Degradation of Ourselves will be on exhibit in the Rick Burns Gallery from January 14 to February 24, 2011. Gallery hours for the New Year are Tuesday to Friday, noon to 6pm and Saturday noon to 4pm. Admission is always FREE! 

To schedule an interview with the artist or for more information please contact the gallery at 454-1433 or connex@nbnet.nb.ca

http://galleryconnexion.ca/