A new exhibition at the Deer Lake Art Gallery ties together both natural and constructed forms while exploring cultural identity in a playful way.
The two artists, Alanna Edwards, who is of Mi’kmaq and settler descent, and North West Coast artist Geronimo, have very different styles, according to Geronimo.
Edwards works range from video installations to harvested flora and fauna, primarily assembling found objects into new creations. Geronimo’s works combine Northwest Coast style with a pop art aesthetic.
“I’ve done an exhibition with her before,” Geronimo said of Edwards. “Her work is very different from mine.
“The exhibition features some of my artwork and my artwork is created in a very politically humourous way, where there’s a lot of social and political commentary but you do have to be alert to catch the messages inside the artwork,” Geronimo said.
An example Geronimo gives is a piece with the date 1491 inside a fortune cookie, the year prior to Christopher Columbus’ arrival on North American shores. It’s call The Good Cookie.
Geronimo also uses shadows within the images to showcase dark elements in the pieces.
Another piece, title Jesus Saves, shows a black Jesus catching a baseball.
“I think people have asked me about Jesus Saves and what my religious preoccupation is, and one of the comments I did say is that any religious preoccupation is really up to the viewer, “ Geronimo said.
Geronimo signs her work with her status card number because it validates her aboriginal status and, as it was assigned by Indigenous Northern Affairs Canada, also reminds viewers we still live under the Indian Act.
Geronimo goes by her pseudonym for a number of different reasons.
“I do believe in death of the author,” Geronimo said. “Prior to colonization we did not sign our artwork, our artwork was a representation of the community.
“Death of the author is based on that philosophy, so I don’t sign my name,” Geronimo added. “It’s a return to anonymity, a return to a humbler time when who people were was not as important as the continuum of work. Instead of based on the individual it was based on the morals of the community.”
The name Geronimo was picked for specific reasons, as well.
“I work under a traditional [heroic] male name,” Geronimo said of Apache Chief Geronimo, known as a warrior and a healer.
“I believe that the art-industry is very male dominated and that as a female especially by producing the work that I’m producing, I don’t feel women get very much respect at all in this patriarchal system and as a matriarchal female I feel it’s a commentary on our socio-political status not just in the art world but in society in general,” she said. “The only way I’ll ever garner any respect is to inevitably become something I’m not, which is a male.”
Tricksters Laugh runs until Aug. 11.
