Myfanwy MacLeod: Trophies
Opening reception: Thursday, June 11, 6–9 pm
Featuring a performance by local experimental, neo-psychedelia brother duo Malcy at 6 pm.
Trophies draws from the Burnaby Art Gallery’s history as a former fraternity house, investigating frat life’s hypermasculine, ritualistic and exclusionary behaviours through classical and contemporary portrayals. Examining the connections between ancient Greek rites and sculpture and contemporary fraternity culture’s visual and performative codes, Myfanwy MacLeod proposes alternative rites and relations. Leaning into the concept of a “trophy” as a marker of achievement, the exhibition offers a nuanced exploration of success, failure and recognition.
Of Welsh and Scottish descent, Myfanwy MacLeod (b. 1961) lives and works in Vancouver. Her artistic practice has resulted in a substantial body of nationally and internationally recognized work, which is held in the public collections of the National Gallery of Canada, Vancouver Art Gallery, and City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection.
Known for works that examine public and private spaces and their relationship to gender, class and the marginalised, MacLeod rethinks hierarchies and intersections between “high” and “low” art forms. Employing various forms of humour to challenge assumptions about gender and value, she delivers a feminist critique of notions of mastery and power.
Pledging the Undead Artist and Curator Talk: Myfanwy MacLeod, Kathleen Ritter and Jennifer Cane
Friday, August 28, 1–3 pm. Free, registration required. Please call 604-297-4422 or e-mail [email protected].
“To reclaim the stain as a form of knowledge is to affirm that what leaks out—what embarrasses, incriminates, or refuses to disappear—might also be what allows us to see more clearly the structures shaping our lives.” – Kathleen Ritter in the publication Trophies.
To celebrate the closing weekend of Myfanwy MacLeod’s exhibition Trophies, we host the artist alongside curator and writer Kathleen Ritter and BAG Director/Curator Jennifer Cane for a conversation. This rich dialogue will explore the subjects that have persisted throughout MacLeod’s multi-decade practice alongside particular themes that have emerged in Trophies.
Image credit: Myfanwy MacLeod, Pleasure Island, 2026, sealed EPS foam, polyester resin and vinyl paint, 159 x 68 x 111 cm. Photography: Rachel Topham Photography.
Hours
Tuesday - Friday: 10 am-4:30 pm
Saturday - Sunday: 12-5 pm