11. Spoiled Milk
Spoiled Milk
Visual Arts Centre of Clarington
September 28 - December 15, 2023
Artist: Rah Eleh
Curated by: Megan Kammerer
Technician: Karl Skene
Fabrication Assistance: Darcy Mitchell, Maryam Zaraimajin
Photo Documentation: LF Documentation
Milk—or our existence in proximity with milk—presupposes a lexicon of aphoristic language that applies to many situations: to skim, to condense, to homogenize, to lactate, to express, to curdle, to culture, to separate. Across digital platforms, however, milk has rapidly soured into a symbol of white supremacy as proponents of Aryanism misrepresent research into the genetic correlation between lactose tolerance and race.
Spoiled Milk brings together a collection of installations by the digital, video, and performance artist Rah Eleh. Its assemblies expand upon ethnic futurist discourses to navigate broad themes of migration, alienation, violence, and radicalism in the digital space. Found video uncovers common microaggressions captured on newsreels and social media feeds. Instances of racially motivated attacks are quantified and visually interpreted into dynamic sculptural forms. Some works see characters confront power imbalances in a classic game show parody. Others face structural violence during the immigration process as their encounter with state bureaucracy reveals larger complexities about liminality, nation-building, and belonging.
In its totality, this exhibition reflects upon historical identity markers, interrogates hierarchical relationships, and proposes new futures beyond our present landscapes of thought. It allows pleasure, laughter, and pain to coexist as we confront uncomfortable truths and significant asymmetries of power within our world. Visitors are invited to question whether we can become spoiled in our privilege. Can privilege spoil our social interactions or cause our environments to sour? Do certain identity performances and historically established power structures have an expiration date in the colonial project?
Spoiled Milk is organized by the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and Partners in Art.