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photo of paul anthony smith, seven women

Paul Anthony Smith, Untitled, 7 Women, 2019. Unique picotage on inkjet print, coloured pencil, spray paint on museum board, 101.6 x 127 cm. The Hott Collection, New York © Paul Anthony Smith. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

Fragments of Epic Memory

September 1, 2021 - February 21, 2022

Located on the fifth floor.

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EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

Fragments of Epic Memory will invite visitors to experience the multiple ways of encountering the Caribbean and its diaspora, from the period following emancipation through today. 

The first exhibition organized by the AGO’s new Department of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora, it will blend historical and contemporary narratives, presenting more than 200 photographs from the AGO's Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs alongside paintings, sculpture, and video works by modern and contemporary Caribbean artists that show how the region’s histories are constantly revisited and reimagined through artistic production over time.

Fragments of Epic Memory is curated by Julie Crooks, Curator of Arts of Global Africa and the Diaspora and will feature a new commission by Sandra Brewster and art works by Ebony G. Patterson, Frank Bowling, and Manuel Mathieu to name just a few. 

List of Artists in Fragments of Epic Memory

  • Hurvin Anderson
  • Sybil Atteck
  • Belkis Ayón
  • Firelei Báez
  • Sir Frank Bowling
  • Sandra Brewster
  • Vanley Burke
  • Charles Campbell
  • Robert Charlotte
  • Andrea Chung
  • June Clark
  • Christopher Cozier
  • Jeannette Ehlers
  • Roy Francis
  • Gomo George
  • Abigail Hadeed
  • Nadia Huggins
  • Diane Liverpool
  • Leasho Johnson
  • Roshini Kempadoo
  • Wilfredo Lam
  • Kelly Sinnapah Mary
  • Suchitra Mattai
  • Manuel Matthieu
  • Dennis Morris
  • Wendy Nanan
  • Zak Ové
  • Ebony G. Patterson
  • Peter Dean Rickards / The Afflicted Yard
  • Paul Anthony Smith
  • Frank Walter
  • Rodell Warner
  • Dorothy Henriques Wells
  • Alberta Whittle
  • Aubrey Williams
  • Natalie Wood

Exploring Fragments of Epic Memory: A Video by Roya DelSol

ARTWORKS FROM THE EXHIBITION

Women’s Carnival Group, Water colour on Rag Paper by Gomo George

Gomo George, Women’s Carnival Group, 1996. Water colour on Rag Paper, 55.9 × 76.2 cm. Courtesy of the artist. © Gomo George.

Fragments of Epic Memory artwork
Jamaican Women, Gelatin silver print

Unknown, Jamaican Women, c. 1900. Gelatin silver print. Overall: 17.5 x 23.5 cm. Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs. Purchase, with funds from Dr. Liza & Dr. Frederick Murrell, Bruce Croxon & Debra Thier, Wes Hall & Kingsdale Advisors, Cindy & Shon Barnett, Donette Chin-Loy Chang, Kamala-Jean Gopie, Phil Lind & Ellen Roland, Martin Doc McKinney, Francilla Charles, Ray & Georgina Williams, Thaine & Bianca Carter, Charmaine Crooks, Nathaniel Crooks, Andrew Garrett & Dr. Belinda Longe, Neil L. Le Grand, Michael Lewis, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Sarah Aranha, Lenny & Julia Mortimore, and The Ferrotype Collective, 2019. © Art Gallery of Ontario. 2019/2210.

Fragments of Epic Memory artwork
Montgomery Martinique

Unknown, Martinique Woman, c.1890. Albumen print, 15 x 11cm. Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs. Purchase, with funds from Dr. Liza & Dr. Frederick Murrell, Bruce Croxon & Debra Thier, Wes Hall & Kingsdale Advisors, Cindy & Shon Barnett, Donette Chin-Loy Chang, Kamala-Jean Gopie, Phil Lind & Ellen Roland, Martin Doc McKinney, Francilla Charles, Ray & Georgina Williams, Thaine & Bianca Carter, Charmaine Crooks, Nathaniel Crooks, Andrew Garrett & Dr. Belinda Longe, Neil L. Le Grand, Michael Lewis, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Sarah Aranha, Lenny & Julia Mortimore, and The Ferrotype Collective, 2019.

Fragments of Epic Memory artwork
Ebony G. Patterson. ...three kings weep

Ebony G. Patterson. ...three kings weep..., 2018. Three-channel digital colour video projection with sound, Running Time: 8 Minutes, 34 Seconds. Purchase, with funds from the Photography Curatorial Committee, 2020. 2019/2469 Courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago. © Ebony G. Patterson.

Fragments of Epic Memory artwork
Kelly Sinnapah Mary, Notebook of No Return

Kelly Sinnapah Mary, Notebook of No Return, 2017. Acrylic painting on paper, 43.2 x 50.8 cm. Private Collection © Kelly Sinnapah Mary.

Kelly Sinnapah Mary, Notebook of No Return
Nadia Huggins. Transformations No. 1

Nadia Huggins. Transformations No. 1, 2014. Digital photographs printed on ChromaLuxe, 76.2 × 118.1 (both panels + 3.8 cm separation). Courtesy of Nadia Huggins, 2021 © Nadia Huggins.

Nadia Huggins. Transformations No. 1
Firelei Baez. Adjusting the Moon

Firelei Baez. Left: Adjusting the Moon (The right to non-imperative clarities): Waning, 2019-2020. Oil and acrylic on panel, 289.6 x 198.1 x 3.8 cm. The Komal Shah & Gaurav Garg Collection. Right: Adjusting the Moon (The right to non-imperative clarities): Waxing, 2019-2020. Oil and acrylic on panel, 289.6 x 198.1 x 3.8 cm. Private Collection, Toronto, Canada. Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York. © Firelei Baez.

Firelei Baez. Adjusting the Moon

LANTERN SLIDES FROM THE MONTGOMERY COLLECTION OF CARIBBEAN PHOTOGRAPHS

This online slideshow presents a small selection of glass lantern slides from the Montgomery Collection which depict various scenes of early twentieth-century Caribbean life. Please note that these objects are not on view in the on-site exhibition, Fragments of Epic Memory. Unless otherwise noted, all objects belong to the Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs. Purchase, with funds from Dr. Liza & Dr. Frederick Murrell, Bruce Croxon & Debra Thier, Wes Hall & Kingsdale Advisors, Cindy & Shon Barnett, Donette Chin Loy Chang, Kamala Jean Gopie, Phil Lind & Ellen Roland, Martin Doc McKinney, Francilla Charles, Ray & Georgina Williams, Thaine & Bianca Carter, Charmaine Crooks, Nathaniel Crooks, Andrew Garrett & Dr. Belinda Longe, Neil L. Le Grand, Michael Lewis, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Sarah Aranha, Lenny & Julia Mortimore, and The Ferrotype Collective, 2019.

This gallery presents a small selection of glass lantern slides from the Montgomery Collection. Please note that these objects are not on view in the on-site exhibition, Fragments of Epic Memory. Unless otherwise noted, all objects belong to the Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs. Purchase, with funds from Dr. Liza & Dr. Frederick Murrell, Bruce Croxon & Debra Thier, Wes Hall & Kingsdale Advisors, Cindy & Shon Barnett, Donette Chin Loy Chang, Kamala Jean Gopie, Phil Lind & Ellen Roland, Martin Doc McKinney, Francilla Charles, Ray & Georgina Williams, Thaine & Bianca Carter, Charmaine Crooks, Nathaniel Crooks, Andrew Garrett & Dr. Belinda Longe, Neil L. Le Grand, Michael Lewis, Dr. Kenneth Montague & Sarah Aranha, Lenny & Julia Mortimore, and The Ferrotype Collective, 2019.

Jamaican Boys, around 1900. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Published by Brown & Dawson, Stamford, Connecticut, Jamaican Boys, around 1900. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1236

Lantern Slides artwork
rossing a River, Jamaica, 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass.

Alexander Lamont Henderson, Crossing a River, Jamaica, 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1270

Lantern Slides artwork
A Street of Palms, Barbados, around 1900. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Published by Brown & Dawson, Stamford, Connecticut, A Street of Palms, Barbados, around 1900. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1310

Lantern Slides artwork
Mont Pelée in Eruption, June 1902. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass.

Published by Underwood & Underwood, New York, Mont Pelée in Eruption, June 1902. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1335

Lantern Slides artwork
Ruins in Victor Hugo Street, Saint Pierre, Martinique, 1902 to 1905. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Published by The Philadelphia Museums, Ruins in Victor Hugo Street, Saint Pierre, Martinique, 1902 to 1905. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1338

Lantern Slides artwork
Frederick St, Port of Spain, Trinidad, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Published by A. D. Handy, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Frederick St, Port of Spain, Trinidad, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1363

Lantern Slides artwork
Sawing Out Blocks of Coral Rock, Bermuda, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Published by A. D. Handy, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Sawing Out Blocks of Coral Rock, Bermuda, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1375

Lantern Slides artwork
St. Thomas Market, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Frederick I. Monsen, New York, St. Thomas Market, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1379

Lantern Slides artwork
Scalding Flood, Boiling Lake Region, Dominica, 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass.

Published by Keystone View Co., Meadville, PA, Scalding Flood, Boiling Lake Region, Dominica, 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1388

Lantern Slides artwork
On The Pontoon Bridge Crossing St. Anne Bay or Inlet from Otrobanda to Punda and Pietermaii, Curaçao, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass.

Unknown Photographer, On The Pontoon Bridge Crossing St. Anne Bay or Inlet from Otrobanda to Punda and Pietermaii, Curaçao, around 1910. Lantern slide: hand-painted gelatin silver on glass. 2019/1399

Lantern Slides artwork
Sugar Estate, Near Home of Alexander Hamilton, St. Nevis, around 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass.

B. L. Singley, Sugar Estate, Near Home of Alexander Hamilton, St. Nevis, around 1900. Lantern slide: gelatin silver on glass. Gift of Patrick Montgomery, through the American Friends of the Art Gallery of Ontario Inc., 2019

Lantern Slides artwork

RESOURCES

Large Print Materials

This large-print label resource is a key part of the AGO's ongoing commitment to inclusion and accessibility and will continue to grow and evolve to better supplement engagement to both the web and in-gallery experiences.

Download Exhibition Large Print 338 KB

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