The Polygon Gallery spends summer with the stars as it presents a major new group exhibition Star Witnesses from June 27 to September 28.
The show features a line-up of acclaimed Canadian and international artists whose insightful observations of the cosmos bring new understandings of exploratory and migratory movements on Planet Earth: Daniel Boyd, Vija Celmins, David Horvitz, Bouchra Khalili, Judy Radul, Thomas Ruff, Urban Subjects (Sabine Bitter, Jeff Derksen, and Helmut Weber), Carrie Mae Weems, and Paul Wong.
“Star Witnesses came together through a gradual, years-long accumulation of energy, experience, and impressions,” says The Polygon’s Audain Chief Curator Monika Szewczyk. “Each artist and collective was invited because they chose astral imagery to relay a fascinating story that struggles to see the light of day. While certain works rely on advanced astronomical technologies, they tend to deepen the mysteries of the cosmos rather than solving them. These artists dare to make imaginative leaps between events lightyears away and the tough stuff of human history.”
Highlighted artists from Star Witness exhibition include;
Thomas Ruff – The most comprehensive presentation of the renowned German photographer’s work to be shown in Vancouver, and the first presentation in Canada to feature works from all of his astronomical series. Beyond selections from his signature Sterne (Stars) — which involved recomposing the archive of the ESO/SRC sky atlas created between 1974 and 1987 with the Schmidt telescopic lens at the European Space Observatory (ESO) in the Atacama Desert — the artist’s ongoing fascination with astronomy is traced through work from Nächte (Nights), ma.r.s., and Cassini.
Daniel Boyd – The acclaimed Australian artist will make his Canadian debut with History is Made at Night (2011), a two-channel video projection with sound by Ryan Grieve, installed in a black box theatre that simulates the cosmos while confronting the many unknowns of the ever-expanding universe. Boyd’s highly unique aesthetic and approach is informed by his ongoing research into the histories of his Aboriginal ancestors and the impact of colonialism on the earth’s oldest continuous civilization.
Carrie Mae Weems – The North Star (2022) concentrates years of this preeminent African-American artist’s historical activism and art of remembrance into seven specially framed photographic prints that invoke the story of her grandfather. Frank Weems, a union organizer in Arkansas, was terrorized, brutalized and beaten, then left for dead by the side of the road; and yet he managed to escape by following the North Star to Chicago, where a new chapter of his life unfolded.
Bouchra Khalili – The Moroccan artist’s Constellation Series, of silkscreen prints shows the path of migrants travelling from the African continent to Europe, based on interviews with the individuals who have taken these arduous journeys
Paul Wong – The Vancouver artist debuts Parallel Universes (2025), which was developed with scientists at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry. This Nxylon sculpture will be shown alongside his Full Moon Drawings (2011), 21 photographs indexing the moon’s light as curving, calligraphic marks created by moving the camera during a long exposure; a suite of neons based on these marks installed in one the Gallery’s outdoor mural spaces; and Solstice (2014), a video where 24 hours is condensed into 24 minutes to trace one long day’s movements of people in an alleyway at Main and Hastings.
Star Witnesses is on display from June 27–Sept. 28, 2025 at The Polygon Gallery, 101 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver. For more information, visit thepolygon.ca/exhibition/star-witnesses.