196 Nations in Order of Size

The new expanded Ottawa Art Gallery features a series of smaller spaces perfect for installations. My first trip to see when it opened in 2018 was full of pleasant surprises.

This piece by Jason St-Laurent, “196 Nations in Order of Size” was commissioned by the OAG in 2017. Here’s the text that accompanied it:

“Jason St-Laurent’s sculpture considers how to conceptualize the geographic influences on international power relationships. As a reconfigurable sculpture that can be rearranged according to variable factors, St-Laurent’s piece encourages critical reflection. What arguments can be made and what can we understand about the political effects of geography, particularly the climate, topography and access to resources? How do these elements affect power? What role do technologies play in determining the balance of global power? How is contemporary politics characterized by territorial units of increased size? By stacking all of the recognized countries that are member states in the United Nations in order size, St-Laurent asks viewers to contemplate the distribution of power and the state of contemporary geopolitics.”