Brian Jungen: Upside Down Flagpole

Upside Down Flag Pole is based on a defunct, unused pole on the property of artist Brian Jungen. As it was being lifted from the earth during removal, the pole's base —a large concrete anchoring block—came up with it. Jungen has replicated the flagpole along with this concrete block, upside down outside The Polygon Gallery. The implications are myriad, with ideas of nationality, environmentalism and land ownership at play, through a work that flies the earth in lieu of a fabric flag.

Brian Jungen (b. 1970, Fort St. John, BC) lives and works in the North Okanagan area. He is noted for repurposing commercial consumer goods, configuring them into intricate sculptures that resemble traditional Indigenous art or natural forms. A member of the Doig River band of the Dane-zaa First Nation, Jungen's work references his own mixed European-Dane-zaa ancestry, while also critiquing labour practices, the relationships between humans and nature, and the effects of global capitalism on First Nations communities and culture.

Image: Upside down Flagpole, 2017 (installation view)

Brian Jungen, 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦, installation view, 2017 (2)
Brian Jungen, 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦, installation view, 2017
Brian Jungen, 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦, installation view, 2017
Brian Jungen, 𝘜𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦, installation view, 2017