Unsettling Canadian Heritage: Decolonial Aesthetics in Canadian Video and Performance Art

Abstract

Issues of settler colonialism in Canada are prominent in public discourse in the wake of the 2015 findings by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. These histories, rooted in legacies of cultural genocide and trauma, disrupt national mythologies of the Canadian state as benevolent and inclusive. Grappling with this moment of reconciliation—and the resistance and resentment entangled in this process—we suggest contemporary artists are leading the way in critically examining these dynamics. In this article we investigate decolonialism as an aesthetic strategy. Focusing on how decolonial aesthetics engages with the discourse of Canadian heritage, we examine the work of contemporary artists Leah Decter, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn, and Caroline Monnet. These artists, all working with archives, communities, and histories located geographically or conceptually at the peripheries of Canada, employ diverse media to engage with heritage objects, concepts, and events, to question settler colonialism in the public realm. Through our analysis of their work, we argue for the ways in which their projects unsettle dominant national histories. We contend that Decter’s, Hoàng Nguyễn’s, and Monnet’s decolonial aesthetics mobilize heritage to unpack the complexities of the Canadian state.