We Will Always Remember (Where We Met), 2024
House paint on un-stretched canvas
On display at AceArtInc in Winnipeg, Manitoba from September 6th to October 18th, 2034 as part of a group exhibition titled ‘Room To Grow Tall’ curated by Sanaa Humayun and Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet of Making Space, a BIPOC focused peer mentorship for visual artists.
We Will Always Remember (Where We Met) 2024 is an installation in the form of a map leading from AceArt Inc. to the Forks National Historic Site. The piece utilizes modern materials like latex house paint with traditional canvas, exploring themes of contemporary Métis homes, our trappers tents, and the ways in which Métis access knowledge, and housing, community, and our traditional spaces.
The map invites the viewer to walk from the gallery to The Forks as they consider the past and present uses of this land, and the relationship between the Métis and this sacred confluence. The work is a continuation of a piece created in 2024 for The New Gallery in Mohkinstsis titled let’s meet at the confluence which took the form of a public billboard in the downtown area.
At the core of my practice are concepts defined in the works of Gerald Vizenor, Sara Ahmed, and Chantal Fiola whose writings discuss notions of survivance, queer phenomenology, traditional Métis teachings, and appreciation for the lands that hold us.
The following is an accompanying text I wrote the morning of the workshop programming I planned for this exhibition.
Saturday, September 7th, 2024
12:01 PM
I’m staying with my friends B. and C. in their beautiful apartment in Winnipeg. They’re such sweethearts and I’m so grateful I can crash with them. I took the morning to myself after karaoke last night. I was sleepy and a little dehydrated so I stayed back to make my plan for the day.
I felt the sound of drums, I opened a window but the sound was coming from inside the building somewhere. I found the place where the drums were the loudest and standing in the dining room with my hand over my heart and a rowdy kitten named Mabel at my feet, I listened to the drummer as their voice joined the beat and felt the vibrations through my feet like the roots of a tree.
I texted my dad happy birthday, I had leftover root beer and french fries for breakfast, I let Mabel walk on my notebook as I write, and I’ll let myself move slowly today.
