The Extermination

The Extermination is an example of Jane Ash Poitras at her most unrelenting. The inclusion of Frank Henderson’s drawing, done on lined ledger paper and with a schoolboy’s hand, brings the sense of the individual within a much broader cultural context. It is one thing to think of the losses of people through war and disease, of the extinction of entire species of animals, but when you are presented with layers upon layers of images of these bones – in direct juxtaposition to the boy’s drawing – the enormity of the effect of a wide-spread occurrence is brought forth most clearly through one individual. The drawing on the bottom and the Native motif on the top enclose the images of bones referencing both lost civilizations and individual lives. The bones are further entombed within the canvas by squares painted around them – suggesting their descent into a limitless space. The work successfully synthesizes beauty and pathos. (Exhibit Text by Virginia Eichhorn)