Window Gallery:
Device Device
Leah McInnis
October 25 – November 18 | 2025
Device Device features two nearly identical sculptures with an accompanying poem. The works convey memories embedded in cultural artifacts, such as film, while also considering memories from the ancient creatures that oil is made from. Oil becomes plastic, which then shapes our material, social, and emotional lives. This work draws inspiration from theories of deep time, and the proposition that oil can bend time, as suggested by writers David Huebert, Rita Wong, and Dominic Boyer. The decay and decomposition required for organic matter to become oil is reflected in the decayed surface of the replicated Jurassic Park VHS tapes and the antique fishing rods of the sculptures. Decay is also present in shifting scales of a text’s cultural value. I believe movies can encapsulate disparate memories for an individual, beyond the narrative plotline. The sculpture’s forms are reminiscent of pump-jacks or dragline excavators, as if they have captured various memories simultaneously.
Leah McInnis is an artist, researcher and educator with an exhibition-based practice that incorporates sculpture, drawing, video, printed matter and text. Her current work is focused on petrocultures and the role of art in just energy transitions. Her work has been exhibited at Open Space Arts Society (Victoria), Flux Gallery (Winnipeg), Mitchell Art Gallery (Edmonton), ArtsPlace (Annapolis Royal), Comox Valley Art Gallery (Courtenay), #3 Gallery (Vancouver), and Victoria Arts Council (Victoria). Originally from Fort McMurray, Leah is currently based in Regina (Treaty 4) while pursuing a practice-based PhD at the University of Regina.
Image: Mosasaur on TV, photograph, dimensions variable, 2025. Photo credit: Leah McInnis and Kai Choufour.
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