About —
Clan was developed without predetermination from the artist, but rather by unfolding itself organically. Faye HeavyShield engages in a dialogue with the ways the idea presents itself, and through this process the idea is distilled to reveal its true form, its essence. Like the land in which it takes place, the idea isn’t fenced in or restricted. It is free to become what it will be, and in that way, it is like the river or the valley. They are in a constant state of change, yet they are what they are. The resulting artwork reflects exactly that.
Land and time are the materials with which Faye HeavyShield is working. Gestures are made without permanent implications to the land, while recognizing that the land itself is in perpetual flux. The work alludes to the impermanence of the womens’ presence in the land as well as the transient nature of the land itself. The state of the land at the time of production becomes part of the work: the weather, the temperature, the sky, the sounds. Playful acts are made through space and time, land and gesture. Relations are also implied – kinship among each other and, perhaps more essentially, kinship to the land. Communications between the women and the land are expressed through their actions. The physical connection is what is being expressed; deeper meanings or statements are open to interpretation from the viewer.
Clan resists categorization, distorting the borders between determined classifications for art practices and media: site-specificity, performance, video, photography, documentary, textiles, installation, sculpture. It is not restricted by any of these labels, and yet encompasses elements of them.
The exhibition includes a photographic mural of Kainai waterways by Faye HeavyShield, A river is a river but it is never the same.
Read wall labels
Biography —
Faye HeavyShield is a member of the Blackfoot Confederacy from the Kainai (Blood) Nation in the foothills of Southern Alberta. She is a fluent speaker of the Blackfoot language and studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary, Alberta. The landscape of HeavyShield’s home community near Stand Off, Alberta is evident in her continuous use of natural materials and imagery found in her minimalist works. HeavyShield has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the Canada, including Nations in Urban Landscapes at the Contemporary Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC, rock paper river at Gallery Connexion, Fredericton, NB, Into the Garden of Angels at The Power Plant in Toronto, ON and blood at the Southern Alberta Art Gallery. Her work is found in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada, the McMichael Museum, Alberta Foundation of Art and the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ, MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, SK and the Kelowna Art Gallery, BC.
Kylie Fineday is an emerging nehiyaw (Plains Cree) artist, curator, and gallery professional from Sweetgrass First Nation, Saskatchewan. She is currently based in Lethbridge, Alberta and is a graduate of the BFA-Art Studio Program at the University of Lethbridge, which she completed in 2020 with great distinction, an honours thesis, and the Faculty of Fine Arts Gold Medal. Her art practice often focuses on themes of identity and family history, as well as addressing social issues and injustices, particularly those affecting Indigenous peoples in Canada. Her material practice is multidisciplinary, and includes drawing, photography, performance, sculpture, and textile work. Fineday has exhibited her work in various institutions in Lethbridge, Alberta, and has also worked on various curatorial projects within the community.
Kristy Trinier is a curator, art director and arts consultant, Trinier’s previous roles include Curator at the Art Gallery of Alberta; Public Art Director at the Edmonton Arts Council, where she managed the City of Edmonton’s Public Art Collection; and Director of Visual, Digital and Media Arts, sessional faculty, and Campaign Grant Writer and Researcher at Banff Centre for the Arts. She is the Secretary and a core member of Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective and producer of Publication Studio Edmonton/66B, a print on demand artist book publishing project. She was a juror of the 2018 Sobey Art Award. Kristy Trinier holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Art and English from the University of Victoria, and a Master’s degree in Public Art from the Dutch Art Institute as a Huygens scholar in The Netherlands, with advisor Thomas Köner. As an artist, Kristy Trinier has exhibited at the Art Gallery of Alberta, Mediamatic Cultural Institution, KunstRAI, Trondheim Kunstmuseum, Villa de Bank, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, and others. She is completing PhD studies in Philosophy, Art and Critical Thought at European Graduate School based in Switzerland.
This exhibition is circulated by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery Maansiksikaitsitapiitsinikssin.
Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the City of Lethbridge.
Images in the banner:
Views of the Fall opening at the Musée d’art de Joliette, 2022. Photo: Romain Guilbault
© Faye HeavyShield, Clan, Performance documentation, 2019. Courtesy of Blaine Campbell.