Métis artist explores themes of colonialism, residential schools and Indigenous identity

David Garneau's paintings explore themes of colonialism, conflict and Indigenous identity. They're part of the 'Dark Chapters' and 'Reading the Ruins' exhibits.

A pair of exhibitions by Métis artist David Garneau explores themes of colonialism, conflict and Indigenous identity at the Founders’ Gallery in Calgary.

Dark Chapters and Reading the Ruins opened March 20 at the gallery inside The Military Museums, bringing together still life paintings that draw on both Indigenous and European influences.

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Garneau, a University of Calgary alumnus and professor of visual arts at the University of Regina, spoke to CTV News from his home studio in Regina.

He said the work behind Reading the Ruins took shape as he responded to images of global conflict and connected with the museum’s historical collection.

“Then I worked with Dick Averns at the Military Museum in Calgary, and he invited me to look at the collection,” Garneau said.

Garneau said those experiences, combined with images of war abroad, shaped the direction of the work.

“Then that suddenly it was just this war theme, and it just emerged,” he said. “So it needed a whole exhibition.”

That shift led him to reflect on the role of art during times of destruction.

“I saw photos or videos from Ukraine and destroyed buildings,” Garneau said. “And it started thinking about that and thinking about the uselessness.

“What are we? Why are we making art at a time like this?”

Dark Chapters, a travelling exhibition curated by Arin Fay, builds on several years of Garneau’s work examining residential schools, Indigenous knowledge and Métis identity.

Fay said the exhibition invites audiences into conversations around reconciliation and identity that extend beyond the gallery space.

“David is talented and generous,” Fay said. “And the message, the content, is so timely and fascinating and allowing people to have conversations that maybe they wouldn’t otherwise have.”

Fay said the work also connects to broader questions about how Canadians understand their place within that history.

“The equity, inclusion and diversity and decolonization questions are front of mind,” Fay said. “And art, generally speaking, is a perfect conduit for having complex conversations like that.”

“Dark Chapters is work that I’ve been doing for the last six years,” Garneau said. “Still life paintings, responding to Indian residential schools, indigenous folks in the academy at universities.”

Garneau said his ideas do not follow a rigid plan but develop through instinct and ongoing experimentation.

“Often with my art, I’m just going with what I’m feeling or thinking at the time,” Garneau said. “Producing these things without knowing where it’s going to go.”

Dick Averns, managing curator of the Founders’ Gallery, said Reading the Ruins marks the first time this body of work has been presented in a gallery setting and uses still life paintings as metaphors for broader social questions.

“So with reading the ruins by David Garneau, first time that this exhibition has been presented in any gallery setting,” Averns said. “We have these still life paintings metaphors for who we are in the world.”

Averns said the exhibition builds on Garneau’s practice of placing Indigenous and colonial objects in tension.

“He has for six years or so now, been making still lifes that juxtapose artifacts, as we would call them, or belongings from an Indigenous perspective, such as sweet grass braids or grandfather stones alongside objects of colonial power,” Averns said.

Averns said the two exhibitions connect, with one expanding the themes of the other from a Canadian context to a global perspective.

“The conflict represented in dark chapters is then expanded upon in reading the ruins to a more global perspective,” Averns said.

“Of Indigenous peoples dealing with physical, mental and military fallout from colonial ambitions in other parts of the world.”

Averns said that includes contemporary conflicts such as the war in Ukraine and the ongoing violence in the Middle East.

“For instance, with Russia invading Ukraine, or the ongoing war and loss of territories for Palestinian people in the Middle East,” Averns said.

Fay said the exhibition is designed to meet audiences where they are, allowing multiple entry points for engagement.

“There is no secret code to understanding and appreciating artwork,” Fay said.

“You can recognize what you’re seeing, and then the deeper that you want to go in, you can go on that journey if you want to.”

The exhibitions bring together symbolic objects such as rocks, books and bones, reflecting both cultural meaning and artistic tradition.

Garneau said his still life approach draws from historical forms, including the concept of memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning “remember you must die,” used by artists as a reminder of the inevitability of death.

“The idea is that they are meant to remind you that you’re going to die and you’re supposed to meditate on it,” Garneau said.

He said the two exhibitions come together through shared themes of history, conflict and mortality, while remaining distinct bodies of work.

“The kind of war themes and the pile of rubble and the memento mori were all sort of coming together,” Garneau said.

Garneau said the gallery presentation reinforces that connection.

“They’re both in the same very large room,” he said. “They sort of bleed together, so that you realize that they’re related.”

Garneau said audience engagement remains central, with meaning shaped through discussion and interpretation.

“I see this work as part of a dialog,” Garneau said. “It’s the dialog among living human beings and not just the inert object.”

Garneau is an alumnus of the University of Calgary, and presently a professor of visual arts at the University of Regina

Dark Chapters and Reading the Ruins run at the Founders’ Gallery until Aug. 30.