| Summary: | Hockey is a symbol for inclusivity, exclusivity, and subsequently Canadian identity in Canadian art. In this proposal, which draws from my research for the upcoming exhibition at the Art Gallery of Windsor, Deicing/Decolonizing: Hockey Histories in Canadian Contemporary Art, I will consider a postcolonial and feminist investigation into the sport, and the culture that the sport perpetuates. Embedded within my research on cultural diversity and the feminist body, this paper will draw upon hockey as a metaphorical and mythological connotation for the ways in which a national identity is constructed and understood in Canadian popular culture. In keeping with Benedict Anderson’s 1983 claim that nations are social constructions that perpetuate "imagined communities," hockey, in Canada has come to perpetuate an imagined national identity. Through works of art by Canadian contemporary artists, such as Judy Anderson, Jim Logan, Lisa Lipton, Clifford Maracle, Brian Jungen, Robert Bozak, Diana Thorneycroft, Wanda Koop, Aganetha Dyck, and Barrie Jones, the many myths surrounding hockey will be the subject of critical debate. With reference to the sport's history, spirituality in First Nations communities and culture, and the notion that hockey represents an imperialist conquest, artists will offer new perspectives on the sport; its history of exclusivity, and its misconceived contributions to Canadian identity. Through a feminist lens, the inherent patriarchy that continues to frame hockey will be destabilized through material investigations of hockey equipment, representations of the game and portraits of hockey icons. After all, let's not forget that women play hockey too!
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