Hank Bull at Saint Mary's University Art Gallery

Hank Bull: Connexion, a survey of a life lived globally, sharing artistic experiences, is laid out in bright objects in the SMU Art Gallery. Sounds compete for attention, posters and framed images cover the walls, sculptural works are touchable and enticing. The vast array of visual and audio stimulation is bringing students in from around the campus. Clearly there is something special about this exhibition that breaks down common barriers to artwork.



Hank Bull (and others from the Western Front), photograph from Vis-a-Vis, a performance by Canada Shadows, 1978 (photo: Kate Craig)

There is a lively humor in the video works in particular and the way the collection is laid out challenges traditional forms of gallery display. Tables are decked out like overflowing workbenches and a mini-library is set up of the artist’s archives, welcoming all to sit and peruse. This tactic gives great insight into Bull’s process and invites viewers into his world no matter their artistic background.

The collection includes almost every medium imaginable. Skilled collaborators created costumes and props that are presented as both sculptures in their own right as well as aspects of performances or video projects. Throughout, the imagery called on is rooted in a postmodern sense of a global artist collective – the kind of work that sought to pull down barriers and cross borders.

This survey depicts Bull’s accomplishments by including pieces made by fellow artists as well as works created in collaboration. In this way it is both a retrospective and an archive of a personal collection. His life and work are about collaborating and cross-pollinating ideas by bringing international artists around the world to work together or present performances and exhibits to new audiences. He is a traveling personification of connection, a human version of the internet.


SMU Art Gallery: http://www.smu.ca/campus-life/art-exhibitions.html
Hank Bull: Connexion continues until March 20.


Anna Taylor is an artist, crafter, and organizer sitting on the board of the Halifax Crafters Society. She is Akimblog’s Halifax correspondent and can be followed on Twitter @TaylorMadeGoods.