News & Community

For immediate release — September 12, 2019

Saskatoon, Canada — Remai Modern is delighted to host the first solo museum exhibition in North America by Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo), a young artist quickly gaining recognition in the global art community for projects that are expansive, disarming and personal.

BODY FLUID (BLOOD) is a new project by the artist that considers blood as a liquid that unites us all, while exploring the complexities of our inner workings. In addition to a major new installation, the project includes a partnership with Canadian Blood Serves (CBS) to facilitate donations, and provides access to on-site HIV testing, consultation and community resources.

“Remai Modern aims to be a museum that supports artists early in their careers, enabling them to realize new and challenging projects,” said Rose Bouthillier, Curator (Exhibitions). “Puppies Puppies’ work is personal, unconventional and thought-provoking. This exhibition brings critical issues into the museum. It’s an opportunity to connect with the artist’s unique perspective, while also raising visibility for the important work that community organizations are doing in Saskatoon.”

The exhibition, which is also Puppies Puppies’ first solo project in Canada, is formed around a constellation of issues and themes: the artist’s family connections and influences, what it means to share and give blood, and what blood may carry or transmit.

As a child, Puppies Puppies saw both of her parents donate blood. She wanted to do the same when she got older, but has not been able to under the eligibility criteria established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a member of the queer community, Puppies Puppies acknowledges the sensitivity around eligibility. The artist encourages donation as a vital and generous act, while also promoting discussion around criteria and risk factors.

In partnership with CBS, transportation from Remai Modern to the blood donation centre at 1206 Emerson Ave, Saskatoon is offered on the Lifebus every Saturday at 11 AM for the duration of the exhibition. Guests who visit the donation centre on other days are encouraged to donate under the code BODY175600. Those who may not be eligible, or who choose not to donate, are invited to participate in the project by accompanying or supporting an eligible donor.

Online registration for the Lifebus is available at remaimodern.org/lifebusregistration.

In collaboration with Saskatoon Sexual Health, on-site HIV testing is offered in a private consultation room within the exhibition space at Remai Modern. Through this presence, testing can be de-stigmatized while raising awareness of HIV prevention, care and community resources.

“With the high prevalence of HIV in Saskatchewan, it is extremely important that we recognize the necessity of accessible HIV testing, especially in a province where rates are double the national average,” said Heather Hale, Executive Director at Saskatoon Sexual Health. “HIV looks different now, it affects people from a wide range of backgrounds, and the only way for an individual to know for certain if they have HIV is to get tested. Through this partnership with Remai Modern we are able to increase the visibility and the practice of routine HIV testing in the community.”

HIV testing will be available at Remai Modern on the following dates from 1-4 PM:

• Saturday, September 21

• Saturday, October 12

• Saturday, November 2

• Saturday, November 16

Supports will be present on testing days to offer pre- and post-testing guidance.

In preparation for Puppies Puppies’ exhibition, Remai Modern’s programming staff met with representatives from additional community organizations including OUTSaskatoon, AIDS Saskatoon and Persons Living with AIDS Network of Saskatchewan. These organizations offered their expertise on the issues addressed in the project, including hosting educational sessions for Remai Modern staff.

On October 15 at 7 PM, a free public panel discussion, shaped in consultation with these organizations, will be held at the museum. The aim of the event is to open a dialogue around the issues in Puppies Puppies’ exhibition and draw attention to the important work organizations and activists are doing in Saskatoon.

BODY FLUID (BLOOD) is on view in Remai Modern’s free Connect Gallery from September 21-November 17.

About Puppies Puppies

Puppies Puppies (Jade Kuriki Olivo) is a conceptual, performance and installation artist who lives and work in Los Angeles. Her work often draws on the emotional resonance of found objects and shared experiences, exploring love, mortality, power relations and states of being.

Recent solo exhibitions include Halle für Kunst, Lüneberg, Germany; Queer Thoughts, New York; Barbara Weiss, Berlin; What Pipeline, Detroit; XYZ Collective, Tokyo; and Overduin & Co., Los Angeles. Her work was featured in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, the 9th Berlin Biennale and X Nicaraguan Biennale.

For more information on the community organizations:

Canadian Blood Services: blood.ca

Saskatoon Sexual Health: saskatoonsexualhealth.ca

OUTSaskatoon: outsaskatoon.ca

AIDS Saskatoon: aidssaskatoon.ca

Persons Living with AIDS Network of Saskatchewan: aidsnetworksaskatoon.ca

About Remai Modern

Remai Modern is situated on Treaty 6 Territory and the Traditional Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respects to First Nations and Métis ancestors and reaffirm our relationship with one another.

Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art in Saskatoon. The museum is committed to affirming the powerful role that art and artists play in questioning, interpreting and defining the modern era.

Open since October 2017, Remai Modern is the largest contemporary art museum in western Canada and houses a collection of more than 8,000 works, including the world’s foremost collection of Picasso linocut prints.

Remai Modern would like to acknowledge the contributions of TD to the Connect Gallery.

For additional information contact:

Stephanie McKay, Communications Manager

306.975.2242

smckay@remaimodern.org