06/02/2026
Union Gallery reopens one week from today!
Here's a sneak preview of ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ'๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ?, a research-creation work by 3rd-year Philosophy and Sociology student Renee Lebeau, which will be featured in the Main Space starting June 9 โ
"I created this collage to visualize how colonial violence continues to shape the present, even when it is often treated as something confined to the past. Through layered materialsโincluding magazine clippings, newspaper articles, and paintโI explore how institutions like the criminal justice and child welfare systems obscure their colonial foundations by framing harms such as residential schools and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) as isolated events rather than part of an ongoing structure.
As I assembled the piece, I became increasingly interested in the relationship between time, memory, and power. The fragmented and overlapping layers reflect how colonial histories are never fully separate from the present but continue to shape lived realities. I was drawn to the tension between what is made visible and what remains hiddenโhow some narratives are emphasized while others are buried beneath institutional language and ideas of reconciliation.
By reworking found materials, I wanted to interrupt familiar narratives and encourage viewers to look more closely at how colonial structures remain active and normalized in everyday systems. Creating this piece also prompted me to consider resistanceโnot only as opposition, but also as remembrance, refusal, and the assertion of alternative futures."
Regular hours resume June 9 and will continue all summer long! Come visit TuesdayโSaturday, 11amโ4:30pm, with late hours til 8pm on Wednesdays.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
