Saskatoon Guernica
Saskatoon Guernica
2021, archival pigment print
available in different sizes
Installation Images
from the Remai Modern’s exhibition Guernica Remastered curated by Dr. Alma Mikulinsky with support from Sandra Fraser
In a new piece, commissioned specifically for this exhibition, Adad Hannah returns to Picasso’s Guernica, making a nearly life-sized recreation of the work in the gallery space. While Picasso’s painting shows the fractured aftermath of a vicious bombing, Hannah’s version incorporates the ubiquitous materials of everyday life, allowing viewers to clearly see how the work was put together. Working with local collaborators, Hannah also recalls Picasso’s collaborative process on the mural, in which artist Dora Maar and poet Paul Eluard co-developed and discussed ideas while Picasso painted.
Hannah’s project demonstrates the great power of Guernica. Even when recreated using brooms, ladders, fabric and other materials, the mural is still an iconic, recognizable image. Hannah documented the production process as it unfolded, which will be used in a future video work that extends the frame, removing the boundary between finished product and the process used to create it.
- Dr. Alma Mikulinsky
Pablo Picasso painted Guernica over 80 years ago as a reaction to the ongoing civil war in Spain, his home country. He was horrified by the destruction of the Basque city of Gernika by German and Italian armies. He channelled this emotion into a large mural that was the central piece at the Spanish Pavilion during the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris.
Since then, Guernica has exceeded its status as a work of art. It quickly became a popular icon and a cultural emblem, reaching an almost mythical status. Beyond its powerful imagery, complex composition, and the historical conditions of its making, the work remains an enduring symbol of antiwar sentiment and political action.
The exhibition Guernica Remastered positions Picasso’s art as an inspiration for contemporary artists, much like Picasso himself looked to previous generations. By using Guernica as a starting point, the artists in the exhibition have produced works that emulate the painting’s composition while speaking to a variety of present-day concerns. These recreations provide a powerful example of Picasso’s lingering impact on contemporary art, and Guernica’s enduring power as a model for activist, political art.
In our image-saturated world, artists allude to Guernica not as a singular masterpiece but as an evolving, oft-reproduced, and powerful political symbol. The work and those it inspires represent that which often cannot be sufficiently expressed: the cruelty of war and unjust human suffering.
Commissioned by the Spanish government for their pavilion at the 1937 International Exhibition, Guernica went on to travel across Europe and the United States, with the intention of raising funds to support the left-wing republicans fighting in the Spanish Civil War. When the fascists won in 1939, Picasso declared that Guernica would not return to Spain as long as General Franco was in power and until democracy was restored. As a pro-democracy symbol during a period of numerous major international conflicts, its global reputation grew. Guernica was on extended loan to the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1940 until 1981. It then was finally returned to Spain where it is displayed at the Reina Sofia in Madrid. The painting was also reproduced extensively, transforming it into an icon, an image of protest and resistance to fascism. Since then it has come to symbolize anti-war sentiments, reaching beyond its historical context.
- Dr. Alma Mikulinsky
The artist would like to acknowledge the assistance of Sandra Fraser and Nicole Hayashi, and the following students from the University of Saskatchewan: Louisa Furguson, Jesse Fulcher Gagnon, Gabby DaSilva, Emily Conlon, Atrayee Basu.
