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Marion Nicholl Gallery

Take off your coat and stay awhile, this gallery has a seat waiting for you. Rob Turriff has transformed the Marion Nicoll Gallery into a fully operational retro watering hole reminiscent of your uncle’s rattan basement bar. Rob’s Tiki Lounge is a tribute to the 20th-century postwar tiki culture in all of its gimmicky splendour.

The Polynesian tiki craze began in America in the 1930s after prohibition, continued with the return of GI from the South Pacific after the Second World War and settled in for another 20 years after Hawaiian statehood in 1959. Cheap flights and all-inclusive resorts made Hawaii one of the most popular vacation destinations for North Americans. Three generations of Hawaiian honeymoons later, Turriff wants to re-create the nostalgia for tiki culture and its escapism quality.

Upon entering the lantern-lit establishment, you are invited to sit down at one of the seven lounge tables, or pull up a stool next to the bar. You can enjoy the projected jungle foliage on your left, or a view of Maui beachfront on your right. Bartender Rob fixes you a drink (mai tai special) and will occasionally dip into the screen where he can be seen on the beach collecting pineapples. Smooth vinyl tunes like “Tiny Bubbles” and “Mela Kalikimaka” resonate and album covers of buxom ladies wearing strategically placed palm fronds survey the room with “wish you were here” looks in their eyes. A large volcano protrudes from the wall and volcanic rock lines a stage that will host local performing talent during the course of the exhibition. The bamboo bar stretches out along the adjacent wall and fences in a stuffed marlin. Carved tiki totems perch around the room and hide behind fern leaves. From the bamboo-lined walls to the reed ceiling, attention to detail in Turriff’s installation has erased all visual clues of the original gallery space.

Turriff’s isn’t trying to replicate the traditional styles of the South Pacific regions represented in his installation’s décor. Instead, Rob’s Tiki Lounge is based on the original Hollywood tiki bar, Don the Beachcomber. There are no artifacts, genuine nor mass produced, in the installation. All sculptural elements of the tiki interior have been fabricated by Turriff not as a cultural signifier, but as a replica of the specific interiors found in American tiki lounges.

Turriff acquired his skill for set design by working as a motion picture technician in Vancouver. Feeling disenfranchised by the content he was producing as a prop sculptor, Turriff has directed his talent to installation and events facilitation. His work deals with frivolity, but his craftsmanship of sculptural installations is integral to the art. Earlier this year, Turriff’s event Hillbilly Hot Tub brought together rowdy country music, chili cookoffs and variety acts centered on a finely crafted wood-fired and cedar-lined dumpster hot tub. Very spirited relational esthetics resulted, to say the least.

Rob’s Tiki Lounge is a performative space programmed with variety acts similar to an authentic lounge. Turriff stresses that he wants to create a set as a place for ideas to be acted out. Audience members are crucial to the success of the installation, however, they are not required to behave any differently than they would in a real lounge. “I just want to create a space that allows participants to play and enjoy themselves,” says Turriff. Performances at Rob’s Tiki Lounge range from Kabuki Guns Burlesque to local rock duo Thunder = Lava to karaoke with special guest Val the Viper Valentino.

Identifying with the entrepreneurial fantasy of owning your own establishment, Turriff will assume multiple roles throughout the duration of the exhibition. Unlike conventional gallery exhibitions where the artist is only in attendance during the opening, Turriff will be present from 7 p.m. to midnight during evening events. You can speak to the manager, negotiate a good gig with the agent, or exchange embellished stories with the bartender.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

• Wednesday, Dec. 3: Lounge night, 7 p.m. to midnight

• Thursday, Dec.4: Opening reception, 7 p.m. to midnight

• Featuring ACAD Avant-Garbe wearable art performance, 7 p.m. and Camp Camp Collective, 9 p.m.

• Friday, Dec. 5: Kabuki Guns Burlesque, 9 p.m.

• Wednesday, Dec. 10: Sculpture Department Show and Karaoke 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

• Thursday, Dec. 11: Thunder = Lava, 9 p.m.

• Friday, Dec. 12: Final lounge night, 7 p.m. to midnight