Canadian artist Terence Gower's Artangel commission Enemies and Rascals at the Maughan Library in London revisits the first US attempt to annex Canada during the American War of Independence, drawing a direct line to Donald Trump's current threats. The sound installation, set in a dimly lit neogothic Victorian library, uses 18th-century diplomatic dispatches, government pronouncements, and pamphlets voiced by actors to portray US founders as rapacious thugs. George Washington is introduced as a "Virginia plantation owner" and Benjamin Franklin as a "printer," their words highlighting greed for Canadian land, especially Indigenous territories.
A Bleak Reflection on US History
The installation offers a pessimistic view of the US as it prepares for its 250th Independence Day, suggesting that American freedom was born bad—hypocritical, grasping, and mendacious. Gower includes quotes from Samuel Johnson, who noted that American colonists shouting for liberty were all slaveowners. The work implies that while the British left lands to Indigenous nations, US revolutionaries were eager to seize them. Gower adds nascent imperialism and precocious Trumpism to the original sin of slavery in 1776.
Lack of Dramatic Impact
Despite its relevance to current US-Canada relations under Trump, the installation lacks drama. The recitation of sources without interpretation or discussion makes it feel like a boring history podcast. There are no characters to engage with, and the soundscape—featuring windswept northern plains and distant storms—is banal. The work has the texture of conspiracy theory rather than sophisticated historical analysis, reducing US history to a single thread from the Battle of Quebec to Trump versus Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Critique of Gower's Approach
Gower's vilification of the US comes close to praising the British Empire, making the British sound more civilized than Washington and Franklin—a naive illusion. The American Revolution unleashed ideals of human rights that inspired the French Revolution and democracy movements in 19th-century Europe and the Americas. Dismissing its positive energy suggests we'd be better off under absolute monarchies. The US contains multitudes: racism, slavery, and Trump, but also rock'n'roll, the civil rights movement, Gloria Steinem, and Jackson Pollock. The installation fails to capture this complexity.
Enemies and Rascals runs from 3 July to 18 October at the Maughan Library, King's College London.
