On display at Beat Nation, Vancouver Art Gallery February 25 – June 3, 2012 a series of new work based on my recent performance art exploration in Brooklyn over the past two years. Using found and handmade items I locate the body as a site of resistance and agency through movement, repetition and sound. It is through my work that I insert myself into new conversations with objects functioning as tools; bones quantify cultural memory, bear masks channel connection with the natural world, jingle boots track basic body rhythms and blankets signal survival.

http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_beat_nation.html

Full scale images. This project was commissioned for Muskrat Magazine and can be found online at: http://www.muskratmagazine.com/issue2/muskrat-arts/what-we-are-made-of/

Two new artist proofs Doll I and Doll II, are up at Urban Shaman Members Show and Sale December 2-17, 2011. For this event 100% of the sale price goes direct to the artists.

For more info see link: http://urbanshaman.org/us/home.html

In the performance Occupy This, I enact a range of strategies to occupy space and awaken our consciousness in a present moment. Through my practice I investigate how culture is informed by our bodies drawing upon my knowledge of Native American nomadic and oral traditions, from the items we carry on our person to interpersonal communication. Moving through a series of basic customs I recall our connection to spirit, one another and the cosmos using action, objects and sound.

Engaging the space on different levels the work is comprised in three parts. The first set of actions focuses on defining and claiming space by marking out a territory using silver tape lines, posting a flag, and establishing eye contact with audience members. Florescent surveyor tape is tied to pilers, objects and individuals dividing the room in a physical web of interconnectivity. The second series involves activating the space through the spectacle of display using a bear mask, more direct interaction with audience members and flag waving. Exchanges are marked by the gifting of my signature wooden tokens. The finale produces a pair of jingle boots, when worn on the feet utilize sound and movement to create a space in which the mundane may approach the sacred through repetition. Stepping up to a microphone a breath of holographic glitter is applied to the lips and the remainder blown like sparkle dust. After the the sound of the jingles resides the glitter is removed through the stroke of the back of a hand. The words “We are the moon” is spoken into the mic.

Click on the link to see video filmed by Laura Ortman: Occupy This Video Link

I perform Occupy This! on November 4th at 8:30pm for “Occupy Grace Space” hosted by Panoply Performance Lab as a component of the November conference Operations and Participations. In this new work I will enact a range of strategies to occupy space and awaken our consciousness in a present moment. Jingle boots, a silver bear mask, m&m’s and emergency life blankets will be deployed. The event runs 7-11pm at Grace Exhibition Space & Gallery 840 Broadway 2nd floor Brooklyn NY. For more information see links:

http://www.grace-exhibition-space.com/performance.php?event_id=184

http://panoplylab.org/conference.html

For more information on Figment NYC 2011 and the sculpture garden: http://newyork.figmentproject.org/long-term-exhibitions/figment-sculpture-garden/figment-2011-sculpture-garden/

ACC COLLOQUIUM – This weekend!!! OCCUPY THIS! I will be here on Sunday presenting on my work and future aspirations for the Dreaming Time Panel!

Revisioning the Indians of Canada Pavilion: Ahzhekewada [Let us look back]
Saturday October 15, 2011 to Sunday October 16, 2011

Colloquium co-presented by OCAD U’s ABVC & The Aboriginal Curatorial Collective and hosted by the Aboriginal Visual Culture Program at OCAD University in partnership with the Aboriginal Curatorial Collective (ACC), this colloquium responds to and embodies the vision of the Indians of Canada Pavilion, (1967) and its continuing impact on indigenous art and cultural production today.

Panel 9: 1967 + The Dreaming Time 1967 + The Dreaming Time will give four emerging artists and curators an opportunity to present their original papers describing their dreams and expectations for the future. Not merely a forum to show examples of their work, we hope this panel will provide an opportunity for discussion about where Aboriginal art and culture is headed. As the Indians of Canada Pavilion did in 1967, this gathering of four young Aboriginal artists will point the way to a new vocabulary and field of action for art and culture.

3:30 – 4:30pm Presenters: Vanessa Dion‐Fletcher, Performance Artist: Writing Landscape, Maria Hupfield, Artist: Those who show us the way, Nigit’stil Norbert, Artist: Renegotiating Contemporary Aboriginal Art from a Northerner’s (Northwest Territories) Perspective, Jessie Short MA, Performance Artist: All of My Blood is Red – Key themes and ideas in my research on contemporary Métis Visual Culture and Identity

For more info on this conference see link:

http://apache.ocad.ca/events_calendar/eventdetail.php?id=3391

Untitled, drawing detail sequence. Ink + graphine 2011

The Drawing Center in New York City and the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian present The Big Draw, Saturday October 15th 11am-4pm at One Bowling Green NY. For this occasion I will be leading a series of drawing activities as the Thunderbird Native American Dancers, led by Louis Mofsie, perform a variety of traditional dances. With music by the Heyna Second Son Singers. Come join us in filling the space with creativity, art and energy during this free all-ages event. No drawing experience required! Materials will be supplied.

See link for more information

http://www.drawingcenter.org/events_bigdraw.cfm