This super kitsch tourist stuff makes powerful statement

A cheaply molded ash tray, a taxidermy gopher in a can, and postcard images that just don’t look right.

That’s the offering at The General Store, an exhibition of various souvenir-type items that look like they celebrate the pristine and idyllic Banff National Park and Canada’s wilderness areas, but on closer inspection have a very different, significant message.

Artists Nahanni McKay and Ben Evely have created all the items on view as a parody of souvenir merchandise. The artefacts are used to illustrate the commodification of the natural world.

“The souvenirs on display in The General Store reference the way places can be misrepresented—how the commercial viability of a souvenir will often take precedence over whether it is genuine or accurate,” Evely said.

He points to the beautifully painted Moraine Lake (one of the world's most reproduced images of a lake) on the base of an ash tray that he deliberately molded from a kitsch, cheap, polymer clay.

"I think it's a pretty self-explanatory [message], putting out a cigarette on the pristine lake," he explained. "It's also poking fun at the one spot where everyone goes despite it's difficult-to-reach location. It's cheeky. Yeah, this was a fun one [to make]."

The exhibition is littered with kitsch souvenir items including promotional posters highlighting what Banff National Park has to offer - until you spot the bizarre juxtaposed images of huge luxury cruise boats on the lake or amusement style rides coming through the wild mountains.

"One of the different threads we're intertwining in this show is the kitschiness you might see and what is the true value of a souvenir," he explained.

Co-collaborator and Metis-Cree artist McKay, like Evely, hails from Banff, which is situated on Treaty 7 Territory.

“Beautiful places in Canada attract a colonial desire to commercialize and conquer this sacred place. This is my way of decolonizing the land,” McKay said.

She showed off a typically-looking pennant that seems like a souvenir but is emblazoned with the words Stolen Land.

"I wanted to make a pennant that's aesthetically pleasing on the viewer and cute, but also puts that critical sense on things... because that's essentially what Canada is, stolen land."

Through their work, the duo seeks to deconstruct cultural trends inspired by nature, examining wilderness aesthetics, and encouraging dialogue within outdoor communities and tourism economies.

The General Store runs until April 14, at the Kelowna Art Gallery at 1315 Water Street, in downtown Kelowna.

And yes, some of their cheesy, kitschy, satirical material, is available to purchase.

Check out the video.