God’s Lake Narrows

COME ON IN, BUT CHECK YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AT THE DOOR
Spend a bit of time looking at a map and it’s plain to see that many reserves are within close proximity to cities and towns all over this country.

For those of us who aren’t from one, or don’t know someone who is, our experience is limited to what we see and her on the news: an endless loop of stories about poverty, illness, abuse and death.

Winnipeg artist Kevin Lee Burton is looking to reposition that narrative. He invites us to see “reserve reality” as he knows it by showing us raw portraits of his friends and family members and their homes. He doesn’t just blithely give access though: we’ve got to earn our way in. By juxtaposing exteriors with interiors, and forcing us to experience one before the other, Burton compels us to question our own assumptions about reserve life. The view is anything but voyeuristic: Burton’s subjects stare out at us, storied, self-made, engaged.