Yellow Fever
Artist
Ruth Cuthand
(Canadian, born 1954)
Date2009
Mediumglass beads, acrylic paint on suedeboard
DimensionsOverall: 60.2 × 44.8 cm (23 11/16 × 17 5/8 in.)
Frame: 64.2 × 48.8 cm (25 1/4 × 19 3/16 in.)
Frame: 64.2 × 48.8 cm (25 1/4 × 19 3/16 in.)
Credit LineThe Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern. Purchased with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Assistance program 2010.
Object number2010.4.1
Classificationsmixed media
On View
Not on viewBeadwork is typically seen as ornamental embellishment for clothing. Ruth Cuthand’s use of beads is just as alluring as its decorative predecessors, but its beauty is intercepted by roughly stenciled letters. The stenciling references markings found on barrels and crates full of trade goods. One of the items Europeans brought were glass beads, a desirable trade item that replaced the more labour-intensive method of using porcupine quills.
At the end of the 17th century, at least 80 per cent of the Indigenous population across North and South America was devastated by disease. Infections often originated in the main trading centres of the fur trade, then spread to smaller trading posts. Indigenous people did not have immunity to many diseases introduced through contact. This work is from Cuthand’s Trading, her first series of 12 works depicting microscopic patterns of the most prevalent viruses.
At the end of the 17th century, at least 80 per cent of the Indigenous population across North and South America was devastated by disease. Infections often originated in the main trading centres of the fur trade, then spread to smaller trading posts. Indigenous people did not have immunity to many diseases introduced through contact. This work is from Cuthand’s Trading, her first series of 12 works depicting microscopic patterns of the most prevalent viruses.
