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Sarnia, ON – Gallery Lambton will be featuring the exhibition Tom Benner: Cruising the Margins from November 27, 2004 to January 8, 2005. London artist Tom Benner has been a practicing artist for over 30 years; meet him at an opening reception at Gallery Lambton on Saturday, November 27, at 3:00 p.m. Admission to the gallery is free.
As an artist, Tom Benner’s primary focus has been centered on the once interdependent but now altered relationship between humans and nature, especially endangered species. More recently, his work has examined little-known figures in Canadian history, particularly First Nations, and the role they played in establishing this country. In his current body of work, Benner combines these two streams with a third concern, the appropriation of First Nations names and history by the mid-20th century car industry as a marketing tool for new vehicles.
The exhibition consists of three full-size handcrafted cars, replicas of a 1950s De Soto, 1957 Pontiac Statochief and a 1950s Chevy Apache. Without the engines but fully mobile otherwise on rubber tires and with working doors, each car bears small “refinements” to illustrate the connection between the original namesake and the automobile. For example, the De Soto has a carved bust of the Spanish explorer as an enlarged hood ornament. Its seats are upholstered in red pigskin in reference to the pigs which De Soto introduced to North America on his first trip and which subsequently upset the balance of nature. Older related work may be included to provide historical context.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an illustrated catalogue. This exhibition has been organized and circulated by the McIntosh Gallery, at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
For more information, contact Gallery Lambton at (519) 336-8127.
For more information about Lambton County, visit www.lambtononline.ca.
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Contact:
Holly Rutherford
Gallery Assistant Community Relations
County of Lambton
Telephone: (519) 336-8127
Fax: (519) 336-8128
email: holly.rutherford@county-lambton.on.ca
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