[URBAN NOTE] On reclaiming the map of Peterborough for First Nations

[rfmcdonald]

Lacey McRae Williams writes in Spacing about a First Nations artist's reclaiming of the map of Peterborough.

I would like to introduce two themes that are continually a point of contention in my own mind that I feel need to be discussed more often, with more people and to a deeper degree: 1) the city as a visual narrative of time and place, and 2) significant historical site selection, which includes the means of commemoration and preservation.

The following artist’s work reevaluates these ideas and shares voices that are less likely to be heard in a contemporary public realm; voices of the Anishinaabek, one of the First Peoples to inhabit areas of Ontario pre-contact.

I met Jimson Bowler at the One of A Kind Show in Toronto, March 2014. He had his art on display alongside a hand-selected group of Indigenous Artists as part of the Thunderbird Marketplace. Jimson’s art at the show was a combination of contemporary sculpture, silverworks, jewelry, and painting. Having been inspired by Norval Morrisseau myself, the grandfather of the Woodlands style of painting, I was instantly drawn to Jimson’s provocative, political, and revelatory works. After a few minutes of talking with him, he explained that all of his pieces are constructed from reclaimed materials found in Ontario, adding depth and meaning to each one. Each piece tells a unique Anishinaabek story – of creation, belonging, survival, community, and spirituality – emphasizing the extreme need for all persons to connect to place. He blends traditional Woodland’s line and shape work with a contemporary streetart-esque technique to reclaim visual space otherwise conquered by colonial values and perspectives.

He notes, “My inspiration comes from the Peterborough Petroglyphs, using the story of the anishinaabe/trickster/nanaaboozhoo as teacher lessons and stories… My sculptural work combines traditional mediums such as bone and turquoise with discarded modern materials. I take inspiration from the traditional ways that respectfully use all materials from mother earth and I seek to create objects that keep the stories alive, motivate us to learn the culture and realize that Aboriginal people are not relics of an ancient past.”

More at the link.