Union Gallery is celebrating the profound connection between the land and its intrinsic connection to Indigenous identity, tly weaving artwork of resilience and belonging.
Composed of artwork created by Julia Rose Sutherland and Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet, the lands refusal is on display at the Union Gallery from Oct. 29 to Dec. 7. The exhibition builds upon the words of L.H. Stalling “the land’s refusal to be separated from the flesh” and uses paintings, handmade paper, and various other art forms to embody Indigenous peoples’ deep and lasting connection to the land.
Julia Rose Sutherland is an interdisciplinary artist, academic, and educator at Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto, of Mi’kmaq and settler descent. In an artist statement for the Union Gallery, Sutherland reflected on her intentions behind the exhibition, stating the work examines Indigenous and Black bodies and their connection to the land.
Using handmade paper to reflect history and ancestral connections, Sutherland created powerful signs to hang from the gallery wall. Half of the paper was part of her art piece, “Wetqapalatl “Immerse in water,” which reflected messages, such as “THE LAND RE” and “THERE’S MEDICINE ALL AROUND ME.” The other half of the wall consisted of her art piece, “Nestuita’sit , becoming aware,” which was created using handmade paper and pencil drawings of symbols like braids.
The evocative and creative art pieces worked to capture the eternal nature of the land and many Indigenous Peoples’ desire to return to and honour the land that was stolen from them. The messages call explicit awareness to the everlasting presence of the land.
Multi-disciplinary artist, Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet, is of Cree, Métis, and mixed European descent and grew up in the hamlet of Calahoo, outside of Alberta. On the gallery website, Ligtvoet explains her artwork for the lands refusal seeks to become a tribute to her childhood memories, growing up on the quarter section of land across from where her moshom (grandfather) was born, and where her and her mother were raised. Her artwork for the exhibit is meant to cherish the mundane and beautiful moments incited by the land and shared through loved ones.
A painting that was particularly striking was Ligtvoet’s acrylic painting, ed between your hands and mine. It depicts two hands ing berries between each other, with bright red notes throughout the painting beckoning for the audience’s attention instantly. The land is at the heart of this painting as it depicts two people sharing, learning, and enjoying the gift of berries that the plants and land offers. Ligtvoet’s paintings offer viewers a poignant reflection of aging, wisdom, and learning done alongside and with the land. Her work strikes a universal note of nostalgia for home and land that was cherished and loved through childhood and carried with one’s soul into old age.
Both artists reflect on their connection to the land, but in different ways. Sutherland reflects on the Indigenous communities’ connection to the land and the shared memories and traditions that are ed through ancestors and the land. Ligtvoet explores the everyday valuable memories she built with the land of her childhood.
“The land has seen good farm dogs, two rapidly growing cities in the distance, cold Winters, dry Summers, and berry blooms through Spring, Summer, and Fall. Despite growing changes, land loss, grief, and disruptions, medicines continue to grow, seed, and come back; horseback rides up hills have become namesakes, and stories have been kept,” Ligtvoet said in her artist statement.
The artwork of the lands refusal is an artistic acknowledgement of the beauty, history, and reciprocity of the land where we stand. Ultimately, the exhibition encourages audiences to give back to the land and consider their relationships to the land around them, while simultaneously honouring Indigenous Peoples’ lasting connection to the land we’re on.
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