Beam, Carl (1987) - Reconstruction Work [Mixed media: photo emulsions and acrylic, pencil, liquid light on canvas] ©Government of Ontario Art Collection, Archives of Ontario
Reconstruction Work (1987) by Carl Beam R.C.A. (1943-2005), functions as both a critique of colonial authority and a reimagination – proposing alternative ways of understanding time, history, and cultural continuity. It is a mixed-media piece that uses photo-transfer, painting, and fragmented imagery to collapse historical, scientific, and personal narratives into a single visual field. Beam was born in M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island. His 1985 painting, The North American Iceberg, was the first work by an indigenous artist to be purchased by the National Gallery of Canada as contemporary art.
Next to Reconstruction Work hangs a piece called New World by Anong Migwans Beam, Carl's daughter.