Stories My Father Couldn’t Tell Me: Jeff Thomas Origin Opens at the Ottawa Art Gallery

Photographic montages, family portraits, recontextualized archival images, and artist travelogues unveil narratives of resilience and survival against the odds

Together in partnership, the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) and the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) announced today the opening of the upcoming exhibition Stories My Father Couldn’t Tell Me: Jeff Thomas Origin, on view at the OAG from October 19, 2024, to March 16, 2025. The exhibition, curated by Rachelle Dickenson, PhD, Associate Curator, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the NGC, delves into the critical and creative practices of acclaimed Urban-Iroquois photographer and cultural theorist Jeff Thomas, reflecting on his 40 years of art making, resistance, and activism.

Starting in 1980, Thomas began making art that challenged dominant historical narratives and countered the exclusion of Indigenous stories, experiences, and origins. In his early works, Thomas employed street photography and intimate portraits of his son as a way to reflect the often-overlooked aspects of Indigenous contemporary life. Later in his career, he recontextualizes historical images of Indigenous Peoples by colonial photographers, reframing the narrative and addressing the erasure of Indigenous knowledge.

In his new series Dream Panels, premiering at the exhibition, Thomas reflects on his artistic past, exploring Indigenous masculinity, disability, fatherhood, and the connections between land, ancestors, and family. For Thomas, each panel functions like an eddy in water, with imagery rising to the surface as stories of place, love and resistance.

“Jeff Thomas has been making place for himself, his son, Indigenous people for over 40 years and re-placing lost or concealed histories that necessarily include everyone. His is a holistic view of shared experiences of the land. Jeff meets history where it’s at and his role as an artist is not to correct (since there is no way to do be ‘correct’), but rather to nuance, ask questions. Jeff’s practice activates layers of meanings that make many kinds of truths woven together in ways that are powerfully articulate.

– Rachelle Dickenson, PhD, Associate Curator, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the
National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) and the Ottawa Art Gallery (OAG) are engaged in a unique partnership to support the agency, self-determination and cultural sovereignty of Indigenous artists, cultural producers and communities. 

“Creating a dialogue between historical and contemporary storytelling, Stories My Father Couldn’t Tell Me stands as a testament to the partnership between the Ottawa Art Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada in supporting Indigenous leadership both locally and nationally.”

– Alexandra Badzak, Director and CEO, Ottawa Art Gallery

“As part of our ongoing partnership with the Ottawa Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada is proud to support the exhibition Stories My Father Couldn’t Tell Me: Jeff Thomas Origin. Jeff’s four decade-long career documenting, articulating and empowering Indigenous voice and presence on this land marks his incredible significance as a storyteller, cultural theorist and an artist of profound vision and insight.”

– Steven Loft, Vice-President, Indigenous Ways and Decolonization at the National Gallery of Canada

Jeff Thomas is an acclaimed Indigenous photographer, curator, and cultural theorist who identifies as Urban Iroquois (Haudenosaunee). Born in Buffalo, New York and is from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, Thomas now lives and works in Ottawa. His artistic career began in earnest after a life-changing car accident in 1979, when he turned to photography to challenge colonial stereotypes of Indigenous peoples. Through his groundbreaking work, he uses photography as a tool for replacing Indigenous histories and reshaping Indigenous representation. Thomas has received numerous awards, including the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts in 2019.

The Ottawa Art Gallery would like to recognize RBC Foundation’s support of the OAG’s Connect: Artist Mentorship Program, and acknowledge the support of the City of Ottawa, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Exhibition Details:
Exhibition Title: Stories My Father Couldn’t Tell Me: Jeff Thomas Origin
Dates: October 19, 2024 to March 16, 2025
Location: Ottawa Art Gallery, 50 Mackenzie King Bridge, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 0C5, CANADA, level 3 

Events:
Opening Reception
Date: Thursday October 24, 2024. Free and open to the public. Registration opening soon.
FREE and open to the public.

FOCUS FEST: A Photography Day at OAG
Date: Sunday October 27, 2024
Time: 11 am – 4 pm
FREE and open to the public.

Check OAG events calendar soon for details.