In 1995, artist Faye HeavyShield first exhibited her multimedia installation Venus as Torpedo (1995/2025). 30 years later, HeavyShield returns to this work, which has both evolved and stayed the same. 

Venus as Torpedo has been restaged as part of the artist’s solo exhibition at the AGO, Faye HeavyShield: Issokawo'taan. The three works featured in this exhibition draw from HeavyShield’s personal experiences, revealing a deep relationship with the land, in particular the Kainai (Blood) Nation in Southern Alberta, where she grew up and still lives.   

 Venus as Torpedo emerges from the gallery wall, cresting above the wooden floor. Clothing covers this protruding appendage, hand-dyed in various shades of blood-red using ochre. Voices of women in conversation, speaking in both English and Blackfoot, softly emanate from the sculpture, beckoning visitors to come closer. Textured by clothing once worn by its owners and holding stories told by the women inside, HeavyShield speaks to many personal stories through Venus as Torpedo. 

Installation view, Faye HeavyShield: Issokawotaan, August 16, 2025 -  February 1, 2026, Art Gallery of Ontario. Work shown: Venus as Torpedo, 1995. © Faye HeavyShield. Photo: AGO.

Reflecting on the initial installation of Venus as Torpedo, HeavyShield shared that work came together intrinsically. 

“At the time that I was working on this, I was being fed these images of strength but also vulnerability and blood. It was one of those times where the title, the idea, the material – I just had to let them use my hands, and then it comes together.” 

Three decades later, much of Venus as Torpedo remains the same for HeavyShield, who doesn’t see time as linear. Small details were changed to restage the installation: new voices were recorded, and new clothing was sourced from HeavyShield’s loved ones. While the original installation only incorporated women’s clothing, the installation now includes garments from HeavyShield’s son. 

Installation view, Faye HeavyShield: Issokawotaan, August 16, 2025 -  February 1, 2026, Art Gallery of Ontario. Work shown: Venus as Torpedo (detail), 1995. © Faye HeavyShield. Photo: AGO.

 One substantial change evoked by this restaging is HeavyShield’s new perspective on the shape of Venus as Torpedo. After revisiting this shape in other works, HeavyShield came to understand Venus as Torpedo’s shape as a reflection of the coulees in Southern Alberta that she grew up with. 

 “So much of [Venus as Torpedo] is still the same, and so much of it is different, just like anybody who is 30 years older,” HeavyShield reflected. 

Experience Venus as Torpedo by visiting Faye HeavyShield: Issokawo'taan, on view now on Level 2 of the AGO in the J.S. McLean Centre for Indigenous & Canadian Art in the Bennet (229), Ungerman (230), Jennings Young (231) galleries.

In Partnership with

Gershon Iskowitz Foundation - Tier 2

Contemporary programming at the AGO is supported by

Canada Council - tier 3a