Shelagh Keeley
Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts, 2017
At the core of Shelagh Keeley's work is a drawing practice that is based as much on a corporeal conceptual response to her research and readings in philosophy, politics, anthropology, poetry and art history, as it is on the careful observation of the body and everyday objects.
Over the past four decades through her work that also includes photography, film, artist books and wall drawings, Keeley has deftly addressed pertinent issues of representation, gender, colonial histories and hidden structures of power. Her work has therefore had significant impact for its thematic relevance and material dexterity, laying bare the use of her hands, body and mind.
Gaetane Verna, Director, The Power Plant (nominator)
Daina Augaitis, Chief Curator / Associate Director, Vancouver Art Gallery (nominator)
More information at the GG Arts site here.