Artist Heather Shillinglaw, whose family is from the LeGoff Indian Reserve, honours the language of her nohkums and kookums (grandmothers) and weaves oral teachings inspired by the natural world. Shillinglaw incorporates the work of historians, scholars, and elders in her artwork, effectively turning it into cultural sharing, and rediscovering her roots to the land by using the philosophy and languages of her ancestors. Blending concepts of body, mind and spirit that become woven messages through her practice, Shillinglaw’s art evolves in her storytelling and re-telling of familial oral histories. Shillinglaw references aerial photographs of the landscapes depicted and recontoured in this exhibition taking a bird’s eye view: these are places of significance to Shillinglaw’s family history she assembles to “encourage us to remember, remember, remember.”

There was a reception with the artist in attendance on June 3, from 5pm to 7pm.

Read an Alberta Foundation for the Arts article featuring the exhibition.