Aboriginal art show features sculpture by UVic staff member

“Strata and Routes,” a sculpture by First Nations education coordinator Mary Aski-Piyesiwiskwew Longman, a member of the Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, has been travelling around North America as part of a major exhibition of contemporary aboriginal art.

Organized by the Canadian Museum of Civilization, where it was first displayed, “Reservation X: The Power of Place in Aboriginal Contemporary Art” has also been shown at the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Museum, in New York City; and is currently at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College.

Longman’s work is an exploration of issues of identity and place. “Identity is complex and shaped by external and internal factors. It is diverse and perpetually evolving. It never becomes fixed,” she says. “I’m basically talking about how roots are shaped by rock, and how our identities also shape the environment we live in.”

Seven aboriginal artists were invited to submit pieces for the exhibition. In addition to Longman, they include Marianne Nicolson, a member of the Kwakwaka’wakw of Kingcome Inlet, who received her MFA from UVic.

The exhibition catalogue is available at the UVic bookstore.