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In Object(ing): The art/design ofTobias Wong, the MOV looks at relatively new objects - every day objects - that have been altered and given greater meaning by the Vancouver artist Tobias Wong.

Co-curators Todd Falkowsky and Viviane Gosselin have worked with more than 50 people from around the world to find Tobias' pieces, get stories, and find images. Tobias' had a great sense of humour, and in one of his pieces he took the Burberry pattern and put it on pin on buttons - thereby making this high-end fashion pattern accessible to everyone.

1" pin on buttons are so regularly used for making a statement, it got me thinking: what non-promotional (such as the PNE or Woodwords) buttons do we have in our collection? And I dug into OpenMOV.

There are, of course, political campaign buttons like this Vander Zalm button from 1986...

Buttons of support, like this simple yellow button that was part of a campaign for redress of treatment of Japanese Canadians during WWII, which resulted in a 1988 apology and financial compensation by the Canadian Government.

And there are protest buttons, like this 1997 No Casino button...

And then there are general statements, that pass as non-political but if you choose they certainly make a statement about possession...

I now encourage you to surf OpenMOV for buttons and share your favourites here!

And now we'll have the addition of Tobias' Burberry buttons. Covertly political, they make a statement on the posession of patterns, of logos, they speak to consumption and advertising and captialism. Here's Pablo Griff, Object(ing)'s Content Advisor and good friend of Tobias, talking about how the Burberry buttons came to be.

Object(ing) opens to the public this Thursday, September 20. Tickets are still available to the Wednesday evening opening party.