2011 ≠ 1848 by Stan Douglas

Stan Douglas, Vancouver, 15 June 2011 from the series 2011 ≠ 1848, 2021 chromogenic print on Dibond, 150 x 300 cm © Stan Douglas, Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, London and Venice, and David Zwirner, New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong

Written by Katie Grierson 

Copy Edited by Parker Renick

At first glance, the Tottenham riots of the U.K., Occupy Wall Street in New York, Arab Spring, and the Vancouver Riots following the Stanley Cup finals don’t seem all that connected outside of their dates, all taking place in 2011. And they seem even less related to the year 1848: how can a year so far away have anything to do with police brutality, economic inequality and corruption in the United States and Tunisia, and the Stanley cup? 

Stan Douglas answers this question in his series 2011 ≠ 1848, in which he both equates the two years and denies their compatibility. At the center of the relationship between these two otherwise unconnected years is protest—people questioning the world around them and taking action. In 1848, a revolution began in France, which would spread throughout Europe; it came to be known as the Springtime of Nations and resulted in the formation of nation-states. Aided by print technology, only three European countries were left untouched. Douglas is interested in exposing this similarity to the protests of 2011, which were supported by social media, but also notes that the revolutions of 1848 led to change, while the social inequalities fought against in 2011 still live on today. 

Stan Douglas, Tunis, 23 January 2011, from the series 2011 ≠ 1848, 2021, chromogenic print on Dibond, 150 x 300 cm © Stan Douglas, Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, London and Venice, and David Zwirner, New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong

Douglas is one of Canada’s most internationally acclaimed artists, and the series 2011 ≠ 1848, along with the second part of the show titled ISDN, is Douglas’ contribution to the Venice Art Biennale. This marks his fifth appearance at the Venice Art Biennale, sometimes nicknamed the “art world Olympics.” However, it's his first time appearing for Canada as its chosen representative and the first time Canada has chosen a Black artist. 

Stan Douglas, New York City, 10 October 2011, from the series 2011 ≠ 1848, 2021, chromogenic print on Dibond, 150 x 300 cm © Stan Douglas, Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, London and Venice, and David Zwirner, New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong

2011 ≠ 1848 includes four large photographs: a view of the Tottenham riots from above, showing protesters and police, Occupy Wall Street protestors on the Brooklyn Bridge being arrested as photographers and protestors hold up their phones, a quiet night in Tunis where Tunisia’s youth are gathering to defy their corrupt government's curfew, and an overturned car, set ablaze in Vancouver after the Canucks lost in Stanley Cup Finals. However, these photos weren’t taken in 2011–they’re recreations, what Douglas called “hybrid documentaries.” Douglas explained this approach to CBC News, stating, “It's the idea of poetic condensation, of having as much information in one place to allow the viewer to see it and parse it as they need to. It has a sense of unreality. But I'm not trying to fool anybody. I'm saying this construction is less a snapshot of the moment, but more a schematic or diagram of a riot.” 

Stan Douglas, London, 9 August 2011 (Pembury Estate) from the series 2011 ≠ 1848, 2017, chromogenic print on Dibond, 150 x 300 cm © Stan Douglas, Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, London and Venice, and David Zwirner, New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong

Viewing the photos becomes overwhelming. The four photographs on display show change, the attempt to change, and are heavy with their failures that we are well aware of. But as Douglas brings us across time and space to see these ruptures, we are reminded that the past never really dies and that 2011 will reverberate and be seen again in our futures. 

Stan Douglas: 2011 ≠ 1848, commissioned by the National Gallery of Canada and curated by Reid Shier, is on view in the Canada Pavilion and the Magazzini del Sale no.5 at the 59th Biennale di Venezia until 27 November 2022.