A Convenient Vehicle for Miscellaneous Discussions

Calliandra haematocephala, commonly called red powder puff. Native to Borneo

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Featured participant: Jacobo Zambrano (Website)

Opening reception: 19:30 July 8, 2016

Exhibition Date: July 9 – August 6 13, 2016

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SPARE ROOM presents “A Convenient Vehicle for Miscellaneous Discussions”. An installation by Jacobo Zambrano.

The title has been appropriated from Charles Darwin’s account of Alexander Von Humboldt’s “Personal Narrative of a Journey to The Equinoctial Regions of The New Continent”, a historical pseudo-scientific document that commemorates the vision and dedication of one of Europe’s most relevant pioneers of speculative travelling.

The project will present a new configuration of the inhabited space in conjunction with diverse educational apparatuses to better exhibit the gathered research material. Tonal qualities will increase sensorial attention while experiencing the previously proposed juxtaposition between professor Alan Reid’s extensive knowledge and alternative biological, botanical and cultural axioms.

Dr. Alan Reid is a biologist, botanist and a distinguished contributor at the Bloedel Conservatory (part of the VanDusen Botanical Garden). He has implemented many key programs for bird and plant biology and has achieved: VanDusen’s Botanical Gardens Award of Distinction (2009), Award of Merit (2009) and Volunteer of the Year (2014). Dr. Reid currently teaches Biology at the University of Fraser Valley.

Jacobo Zambrano is a visual artist from Caracas, Venezuela living in Vancouver, Canada. He deals with historical cultural narratives that are often considered as defining milestones in current socio-political and economic contexts. The North-South Divide constitutes one of the primary subjects of research in Zambrano’s conceptual practice, as this particular paradigm defines how identities have been constructed in society, the artist focuses on the potential for new discourses that challenge the dynamic between the Old World and the New World within the Latin American historical context.

Zambrano writes essays, short stories, uses found objects and is interested in sculptural installations as a means for better engaging, formally, with the theoretical concerns that currently inform his artistic practice.

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This event takes place on unceded Coast Salish Territory. Unceded means that this land was never surrendered, relinquished or handed over in any way. Based on our current knowledge, this includes the territories of the Musqueam, Skxwú7mesh (pronounced Squamish or Skohomish), Stó:lo & Tsleil-Waututh (pronounced: slay-wa-tooth, aka Burrard) nations.