Jana Sterbak

A major figure in contemporary art for the past 20 years, Jana Sterbak has developed a complex corpus of work which, while intellectual in inspiration, has emerged from the usual confines of artistic interest to provoke large-scale public debate. Since the creation of her controversial Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorexic, Sterbak has always touched a nerve.  Sterbak’s video installation, From Here to There is comprised of a micro-camera, wireless image/sound transmission, multiple screens and a terrier named Stanley. A dog’s eye view of the City of the Doges is ample evidence of the artist’s sardonic wit, but as always with Sterbak, the real purpose lies elsewhere. Two essays consider Sterbak’s current work within the context of her entire oeuvre. Accompanied by a text on the Biennial’s Canadian pavilion (known as the tipi), a text by Flying Hawk on life in a tipi and a recipe for Porcupine stew.  The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum of Modern Art, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Louisiana Museum of Contemporary Art and the National Gallery of Canada have all mounted solo exhibitions of her work