Ed. Varie is pleased to present 8 Piece Luggage Set (Canoe) by Vancouver duo, Until We Have A Helicopter (UWHAH).

Typcially multi-tasking in their artwork, conceptually and physically, UWHAH has repurposed a 16’ canoe, sectioned and capped it off into eight pieces of luggage. Together with family and friends each individual piece has been brought to Manhattan from Vancouver on planes, trains, and automobiles. The whitewashed work that hangs in the gallery is easily reassembled, and once again a fully functional canoe.

The act of bringing a canoe on an airplane is meant to address the perceived and actual distance between metropolis and remote wilderness. How well off would you be if you crashed on a deserted island with the luggage items you typically carry on a flight? At what point did North American pioneers have the opportunity to create art instead of just concentrating on survival? With this rudimentary streamlining of form and function, UWHAH propose that through a historic gaze, they are doing both at the same time.

Until We Have A Helicopter is the collaborative entity of Vancouver based artists Wes Cameron and Matthew Robertson. Working together since 2005 they have developed a practice that includes large-scale sculptural production and installation, curatorial projects, gallery direction and functional-object making.

8 Piece Luggage Set (Canoe) will be on view at Ed. Varie through October 16, 2011 and shown by appointment. Please contact the gallery for any additional information, [email protected]