Indigenous artist explores artistic process of newest exhibition installment at Thunder Bay Art Gallery
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY — Indigenous artist Sharon Hunter enjoyed her July 8 artist talk for the Kwewog Giiwednog — Women of the North exhibition featuring three Mississauga #8 women in regalia at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. The highway billboard-sized mural featuring Dana Boyer and her daughters Brenna and Brooke is on display on the exterior of the gallery from July 2-Sept. 5.
“It went very well — the presentation was very relaxed, it was just like a gathering,” says Hunter, who resides in Blind River. “And I feel that Dana closing it with song was really good. It just brought everything to a different place and … infuses the mural, the painting, the meaning with a song, with a ceremony, and I really like that.”
Hunter says there were some “very heartfelt” questions from the audience during the artist talk, which was held over the virtual Zoom platform. She shared information about how she worked with the women to create the images on the mural.
“It brought more perspective and depth to the work,” Hunter says. “It was a nice opportunity for people to see the images and reflect and [ask] questions. One person, who is a friend of mine, commented about being a messenger. Those kind of questions like that are very powerful and meaningful and they come with a lot of responsibility, too, so I reflect on that, too, that there’s always more work to do in being responsible in role modelling and those elements. I’m hoping that with the conversation dialogue that was happening, that it added a little bit for everybody.”
The mural, which depicts Boyer and her daughters looking across the horizon with an element of water and images of bright ribbons, red bear berries and fish, will be installed at the Mississauga #8 Pow Wow grounds after the exhibition.
“I’m looking forward to the ceremony that is going to happen when it is up at the pow wow grounds here in Mississauga,” Hunter says. “I gifted it to them and I just feel that is a good place for it to be. It’s meaningful for Dana because she does a lot of work in the community and for the daughters for the youth.”
Boyer says it was a “real honour” to be depicted with her daughters on the mural, which was originally installed on a highway billboard along Hwy. 17 near her community from August 2019-April 2021.
“I am from the bear clan and you can call me an environmental warrior in a way — I stand up for the environment,” Boyer says during the artist talk. “It’s a very beautiful picture and I know many people from the community really do appreciate it and love it.”
Boyer says it was a “really nice process” to see Hunter’s progress as she worked on the mural.
“It was very exciting to see it come to life,” Boyer says, noting that Hunter sent her photos of her progress and asked if they wanted anything included on the mural. “I didn’t want a bear on there but I thought some bear berries flowing from the ground because that is good medicine. Plus, my girls were of the pike clan so she put some pike in there for them, too, so I just thought those were beautiful little touches.”
Hunter says the water element featured across the middle of the mural could be any body of water.
“I wanted this feeling of being in big space and open, and the water takes us in and we are part of the water,” Hunter says.