Catalogue of an exhibition curated by Anna Hudson held at the University of Toronto Art Centre, May 1-June 28, 2008Essays by Anna Hudson, Dave Bidini, Andrea Naomi WalshDrive By: A Road Trip with Jeff Thomas focuses on several distinct bodies of work which Onondaga artist Jeff Thomas produced across a span of over 20 years, including: "The Bear Portraits," "Indians on Tour," "A Conversation with Edward S. Curtis" along with images focusing on the monument to Samuel de Champlain in Ottawa's Nepean Point Park. The publication comprises a statement by the artist (My Indian Companion), and an essay by the exhibition curator Anna Hudson (Mapping Jeff Thomas), along with a hilarious imagined conversation scripted by independent writer, playwright and rock musician, Dave Bidini (Notes on a Car Door 3:12pm Highway 11). One object of the exhibition and publication is to allow the artist, and others to look back over the terrain he has traversed, both literally and metaphorically. But this culminating point is not one of conclusion, or termination. It also marks a moment of subtle but most profound shift in Jeff's work as Andrea Naomi Walsh points out (Creating a New Archive: The Aboriginal Body and Identity, History, and Sense of Place in the Photography of Jeff Thomas). This index of future direction is evident in the move away from a lengthy project of documentation, archiving and retrieval of recent history, and towards an autonomous forging of identity within a series of completely contemporary urban and rural landscapes. Richly illustrated, the publication also comprises a list of the 60 works by Jeff Thomas in the University of Toronto Art Collection, with thumbnails of each.

Anna Hudson is a professor of Canadian art history and curatorial studies at York University.

Anna Hudson's profile page

Dave Bidini's first book, published in 1998, was the popular and critically acclaimed On a Cold Road, about what it's like to tour Canada in a rock 'n' roll band. He has since written four more books, Tropic Of Hockey (2001), Baseballissimo (2004), For Those About to Rock (2004) and The Best Game You Can Name (2005). When he is not writing or traveling the world, Bidini is rhythm guitarist for the Rheostatics. He also starred in the Gemini Award-winning film The Hockey Nomad. Dave Bidini lives with his wife and two children in Toronto.

Please visit Dave at www.davebidini.ca or follow him on Facebook.

Dave Bidini's profile page

Andrea Naomi Walsh's profile page