An experimental ‘autobiographical documentary-fiction’ exhibit at the Nanaimo Art Gallery starts a conversation about various cycles by asking “what stories do we and our bodies tell?”
The multi-media exhibit ‘Give Birth Love Tooth’ by Art Action Earwig, was initially inspired by a pair of extracted wisdom teeth. In the telling of the exhibit, the anthropomorphized teeth talk to each other and express the “willfully forgotten and silenced memories, including lost labours, language barriers, legal struggles and longing for love,” of the woman’s body they were extracted from.
‘Give Birth Love Tooth’ prominently features photos and multiple conceptual pieces based on Minah Lee’s extracted teeth.
“Her mother gave birth to her when she was at her age,” said Lee of the ‘birthing and tooth extraction’ comparison. “And that memory of birth and mother and ancestors – birthing being something that’s passed down… I was interested in linguistic plays between the English language and Korean language and my own person struggles between that relationship with those two languages.”
In Korean, Lee said, wisdom teeth are referred to as ‘love teeth’ – which is thought to correlate with a person experiencing their first love and when their third molars break through the gum line.
In one of the four video installations, Lee interviews the dentist who extracted her teeth, Dr. David Khang, about the different cultural contexts surrounding those specific teeth.
“In a metaphorical sense, telling stories is like birthing something,” said Wryly Andherson. “It’s like suddenly being born out of your mouth… And also there is some inspiration regarding some Indigenous cultures… when teeth come out, they put them in the ground and bury them – kind of like a seed. And, again, metaphorically, a seed is like something that is birthed.”
As part of the exhibit, Andherson worked in collaboration with Vancouver fibre artist Deirdre Pinnock to create a wire-frame tooth sculpture for attendees to share and attach personal tooth related stories to the sculpture. The hand-written notes will then be composted and put into the ground in a “visceral sense of cycle.”
For ‘Give Birth Love Tooth,’ Lee said they learned about native plant seeds for the creation of tooth-shaped seed bombs that will, in due course, be distributed throughout the community.
At the opening reception on April 28, curator of the Nanaimo Art Gallery, Jesse Birch, said the exhibit speaks directly to “this place;” while being centered around stories about teeth, it addresses what it means to practise with care on Snuneymuxw, Snaw-Naw-As, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories.
In a release, Lee also noted that Art Action Earwig was guided by a practice called ‘root to routine’ which works toward being grounded in a respectful and reciprocal way.
“We have been learning from local knowledge keepers in our preparation of this exhibition. Elder Geraldine Manson has guided us to work with native seeds for our Seed Bomb activities,” Lee said in the release.
Art Action Earwig created a zine, which can be purchased at the art gallery, that furthers the narration of family history and storytelling of the anthropomorphized teeth. The zine includes photos, artistic renderings and QR codes for digital redirection.
‘Give Birth Love Tooth’ will be shown at the Nanaimo Art Galley until June 25. As part of the exhibit, a gathering by the art collective will be held at the cemetery on Bowen Road, May 14, and a performance is planned on Saysutshun, formerly known as Newcastle Island, June 11. Further information on the exhibit, gathering and performance can be found at
was initially inspired by a pair of extracted wisdom teeth. In the telling of the exhibit, the anthropomorphized teeth talk to each other and express the “willfully forgotten and silenced memories, including lost labours, language barriers, legal struggles and longing for love,” of the woman’s body they were extracted from.
‘Give Birth Love Tooth’ prominently features photos and multiple conceptual pieces based on Minah Lee’s extracted teeth.
“Her mother gave birth to her when she was at her age,” said Lee of the ‘birthing and tooth extraction’ comparison. “And that memory of birth and mother and ancestors – birthing being something that’s passed down… I was interested in linguistic plays between the English language and Korean language and my own personal struggles between that relationship with those two languages.”
In Korean, Lee said, wisdom teeth are referred to as ‘love teeth’ – which is thought to correlate with a person experiencing their first love and when their third molars break through the gum line.
In one of the four video installations, Lee interviews the dentist who extracted her teeth, Dr. David Khang, about the different cultural contexts surrounding those specific teeth.
“In a metaphorical sense, telling stories is like birthing something,” said Wryly Andherson. “It’s like suddenly being born out of your mouth … And also there is some inspiration regarding some Indigenous cultures … when teeth come out, they put them in the ground and bury them – kind of like a seed. And, again, metaphorically, a seed is like something that is birthed.”
As part of the exhibit, Andherson worked in collaboration with Vancouver fibre artist Deirdre Pinnock to create a wire-frame tooth sculpture for attendees to share and attach personal tooth-related stories to the sculpture. The hand-written notes will then be composted and put into the ground in a “visceral sense of cycle.”
For ‘Give Birth Love Tooth,’ Lee said they learned about native plant seeds for the creation of tooth-shaped seed bombs that will, in due course, be distributed throughout the community.
At the opening reception on April 28, curator of the Nanaimo Art Gallery, Jesse Birch, said the exhibit speaks directly to “this place.” While centred around stories about teeth, it addresses what it means to practise with care on Snuneymuxw, Snaw-Naw-As, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam territories.
In a release, Lee also noted that Art Action Earwig was guided by a practice called ‘root to routine’ which works toward being grounded in a respectful and reciprocal way.
“We have been learning from local knowledge keepers in our preparation of this exhibition. Elder Geraldine Manson has guided us to work with native seeds for our Seed Bomb activities,” Lee said in the release.
Art Action Earwig created a zine, which can be purchased at the art gallery, that furthers the narration of family history and storytelling of the anthropomorphized teeth. The zine includes photos, artistic renderings and QR codes for digital redirection.
‘Give Birth Love Tooth’ will be shown at the Nanaimo Art Galley until June 25. As part of the exhibit, a gathering by the art collective will be held at the cemetery on Bowen Road, May 14, and a performance is planned on Saysutshun on June 11. Further information on the exhibit, gathering and performance can be found at www.nanaimoartgallery.ca.
READ MORE: Nanaimo Art Gallery hosting exhibit based on responses to late artist’s work
mandy.moraes@nanaimobulletin.com
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