Joan Jonas: We Come from the Sea
Step into the world of internationally acclaimed artist Joan Jonas in We come from the sea, a powerful and immersive multisensory exhibition featuring her installation Moving Off the Land II. In the exhibition, Jonas — a central figure in video and performance art — pays homage to the beauty, biodiversity, and vulnerability of oceans. Moving Off the Land II reflects years of research, performance, and filmmaking in the waters of Jamaica and Nova Scotia, and in aquariums around the world. The work invites visitors to experience the ocean as never before — not just as a place, but as a living, breathing part of themselves.
Through layered projections, soundscapes, movement, drawing, and storytelling, We come from the sea examines the line between art and nature, fact and feeling. Jonas’ deep connection to Cape Breton, where she has lived seasonally since 1970, is woven throughout, bringing local landscapes and local spirit into a global conversation.
Somewhere in our unconscious we remember that we come from the sea. It’s not a memory; it’s a feeling; it’s in our DNA. — Joan Jonas
About the
artist
Joan Jonas (b. 1936, New York City) is a central figure in video and performance art. Her work has been key to the acceptance of these art forms as a means of engaging with critical perspectives on the world, history, and humankind.
Jonas’ work encompasses media including video, performance, installation, sound, text, and sculpture. Her experiments and productions from the late 1960s and early 1970s remain crucial in the development of many contemporary art genres, from performance and video, to conceptual art and theatre. Since 1968, her practice has explored ways of seeing, the rhythms of rituals, and the authority of objects and gestures.
Photo: Maximilan Geuter, 2022
Organized by the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
The National Gallery of Canada’s National Engagement initiative is generously supported by Michael Nesbitt, with additional funding from the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia acknowledges the support of the Province of Nova Scotia, the Canada Council for the Arts, the D.R. Sobey Foundation and The Sobey Foundation.