ESTEVAN — The two new exhibitions the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum introduced early February are to remain on display until March 24.
Gallery 1 currently features The Forest is a Doorway by Jess Richter, while Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett’s The Spirit of Nature – Looking Beyond Yourself is on display at Gallery 2.
Amber Andersen, the EAGM’s director/curator, said while different, the exhibitions have a few things in common.
"Both of the exhibitions are basically interested in research and looking at folk traditions and their different ethnic backgrounds. One artist, Phyllis Poitras-Jarrett, is a Métis artist based in Regina. She's looking at the seven grandfather teachings, she's looking at the different elements that are important to her culture. And then we have Jess Richter who's also from Regina. She's looking at her cultural backgrounds going back to Germany, English, Celtic roots," Andersen said.
"And nature is also very important to both of these artists as well."
Andersen added they had a lot of interest from students and tourists so far with the two exhibitions.
"We've had so many tours, which is so lovely. A lot of the school kids were coming through, and they've just been well attended. So, it's really nice to be back into full swing," Andersen said.
She added they continue to offer virtual and in-person tours, and the teachers have been using all tools available. They continue to offer a lot of afterschool programming and workshops for kids and adults, which also bolsters attendance.
The Forest is a Doorway
The Forest is a Doorway is created by Richter, who hails from Regina.
"Tree sloughs and windbreaks dot and break up the fields of Saskatchewan, small patches of the wild within the carefully cultivated field. Whether settler-planted or existing before colonization, these small areas of miniature forest call back to the collective memory and mythology that forests have occupied within the European and European-Canadian psyche," reads the artist's statement.
"When I drive past them or hike through them, I think of these little tree breaks as a liminal space: a portal that takes me back to the places my ancestors are from and a spiritual place that might be used as a sacred area to reconnect with Earth, honouring folk practices long-lost by settlers. What might these practices and relationships look like, in a new context and with new practitioners?"
Considering the prosaic and practical relationships cultivated by Euro-settlers to the Prairies, Richter brings forth the Old Ways and the Old Gods as a methodology to explore her complex relationship to cultural identity and land: neither fully German nor British, but never wholly Canadian due to anti-German exclusion following the Second World War.
"Oppositionally, as well as being places of reverence and connection, I consider these forested areas a place of menace and danger. Lore is filled with the contrasting nature of the forest, as both a protector and source of sustenance and a place where danger lurks. Similarly, looking into these ancient folk practices brings up darker times of blood and sacrifice.
“Even as these practices experience positive areas of revival, white supremacists and their associated movements are eager to co-opt European folk imagery and tradition to assert a type of cultural dominance. There is a strong association of shame with many of these traditions, particularly for Germans and German Canadians. How might settler Canadians interested in these practices not use them to replace or supplant Indigenous practices?
“How might I revisit these practices in their colonial complexity and address guilt and shame while making connections to Euro-folk tradition and community?" the statement continues.
Richter explains that the forest seems like a place that can hold these complexities and nuances, creating space for conversations and considerations outside the digital and social media sphere where they commonly occur now.
The Spirit of Nature – Looking Beyond Yourself
Poitras-Jarrett created The Spirit of Nature – Looking Beyond Yourself, circulated by the Organization of Saskatchewan Arts Councils.
Poitras-Jarrett is a contemporary Métis artist living in Regina. Both her Kokum and Mooshum's homelands were near the Red River.
She graduated from the Saskatchewan Urban Natives Teaching program and retired from a career of teaching after 28 years to get back to art.
"My art celebrates traditional Indigenous worldview and harmony with all sources of life. Animals, plants, insects, land, water and air hold equal value on earth," reads the artist's statement. "We must be mindful of our daily footprints by respecting and caring for Mother Earth. These life elements are referred to as All My Relations by Indigenous people.
"The deep respect that Indigenous people have with nature is woven into kinship systems, as with clans, in storytelling and in ceremonial practices, and has been present for thousands of years. In Canada, we have over 50 Indigenous Nations with diverse beliefs and practices unique to their nation's cultures and to individuals within those communities. Some individuals within each nation embrace traditional spiritual practices that overlap with contemporary religious beliefs."
Poitras-Jarrett explains that in her art the Spirit animals symbolize the qualities and values that every person has within themselves.
"Embracing these values will create conditions for our lights to shine bright on our life journeys. A mindful, kind, loving society generates more energy and space to be present. The result is more time to look beyond ourselves and notice that Mother Nature has always provided us with abundant gifts of clean air, water and food to keep us alive. For our health and survival, we must realize that taking care of Mother Earth and her gifts is a priority," continues the statement.
"My art also highlights diversity in nature represented by animal motifs and colourful symmetrical Métis floral beadwork. Each bead, flower and animal is part of something greater. The grey background and white flowers represent the greater universe. Hidden within each painting is a glass spirit bead, which in traditional Métis beadwork was an off-colour or misplaced bead.
“The spirit bead symbolizes humanity's disruptive imperfections. This reminds us that each day is an opportunity to make improvements in ourselves for the betterment of all of our relations. When humankind recognizes that we are the stewards of Mother Earth, we can begin restoring health, harmony and balance in our lives and the natural world."
She adds that her art is shaped by her experiences from her past and present, her cultural background and her love for nature.
