MY RIVER GOES WITH ME
JULIE
ART PROJECTS
JULIE
ART PROJECTS
collaboration with Johnson Witehira
at NZ and Canada, 2021
at NZ and Canada, 2021
This collaborative work will explore the flora and fauna of our geographic regions, the Canadian prairies and Aotearoa (New Zealand), resulting in the creation of a large-scale media work. This installation will be grounded in the patterns of Metis beadwork and the landscape it draws on for its creative inspiration. As prairie Metis people we have worked in collaboration with First Nations to create some of the most distinct flora and fauna patterns in North America. These patterns will be interconnected with Maori imagery of plant life that makes up one of the most unique ecologies in the Pacific Ocean. We will invoke the rights of the treaty of Waitangi and specifically the Wai 262 claim, which protects Maori ownership over the flora and fauna that are significantly linked to iwi or hapu identity (family and cultural relations). Ideas of water and its living qualities will be explored as Nagam is situated within one of the largest and most historical waterways in North America and as Witehira's iwi (relations) river is the world's first river to be granted the status of person-hood. Both artists work with land based knowledge and have created existing work that relates to the knowledge of plant life and cultural frameworks of the living entities that have grounded our cultures for centuries. The images projected will bring different stories to life, making objects from the sound pieces become alive and move throughout the space. The concept will draw connections to our two different geographic spaces and cultural knowledges.