Phan’s “Lili and the Migratory Influences”
Textual and relational influence are the topics of Bernadette Phan’s exhibition, Lili and the Migratory Influences, an off-site exhibition of the Burnaby Art Gallery hosted at Burnaby’s Bob Prittie Library. Phan is apparently an artist whose talent for conveying complex issues with graphite is far in excess of her current standing in the gallery culture.
After following my professor’s instructions to the wrong branch of the Burnaby Public Library, and participating in several confusing phone conversations with librarians who were (it seemed) surprised to hear that I was interested in finding Phan’s exhibition, I finally found what I was looking for.
The exhibit itself takes a somewhat secondary role in the space it inhabits. The framed examples of Phan’s work are mounted on columns surrounding the library’s second-story atrium. It took me a while to notice them, even when I was only several feet away. Placards provide the usual information about each piece, except where they have disappeared, leaving only four sticky-tack lumps arranged in a small rectangle.
The exhibit is not obviously advertised in any way, and the library’s current state of decor is unceremonious, since the building is in the middle of a renovation. In order to look closely at the graphite drawings, one has to invade the personal space of whoever happens to be reading at the lecterns which they hang directly above. It feels difficult to justify spending more than a moment or two leaning over somebody in order to look at the drawings. It feels as if the viewer is an intruder, interfering with the library’s normal functioning.
Phan’s work itself, however, provides and intimate illustration of a close family member. The graphite drawings have an intimate feel which communicates her Aunt’s personality quite vividly. The drawings (of which there are over 150) show books which belonged to Phan’s aunt Lili, according to the exhibition’s website (http://www.burnaby.ca/Things-To-Do/Arts-and-Heritage/Burnaby-Art-Gallery/Exhibitions/Bernadette-Phan–Lili-and-the-Migratory-Influences.html). Lili passed away in 2008.
Phan’s drawings map out some of the relational matrix of her aunt – the titles and authors who contributed to Lili’s understanding of the world around her. These are some of the diverse influences which may have allowed Lili to understand how language and place defined her life. However these aren’t just the names which built Lili’s concept of herself, they are also those by which Phan understands her aunt, they are the imprint of Lili’s personality on her niece.
On the exhibition’s website, Phan writes that it was a challenge to capture the reserve by which Lili lived, but based on the work I saw today, Phan has done an excellent job. Phan has taken full advantage of the opportunity which inheriting these books provided her – she has captured a fragment of a person’s complex and intricate personality. Her drawings capture a small kernel of what it means to be a migratory human being, and how valuable it is to share what makes us unique with our families.