I WILL RETURN
30in x 40in
Mixed media on birch panel
The story of mother and child, surging beyond colonialism’s grasp and into the past/present/future – O – with our ancestors and grandchildren. Our kin – Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Bison – guide us and strengthen our relationship with language, land, stories, ceremonies: Identity.
Bow to The Matriarch, 2016
Plains peoples of Turtle Island depended on bison to survive. Although not their only resource, First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples relied on bison for food, clothing, tools… as the entire body of the animal was used, and honored, for all kinds of functions and ceremonial practice. Colonialists essentially wiped out the bison in order to exert control over Indigenous peoples. In the 19th century, the bison population went from upwards of 60 million to just a few thousand – the fastest rate of extinction of any species in human history.
“The bison, the staple food for millennia, provided a diet so dependable and so nutritious that the First Nations of the Plains have been described by anthropologists as the tallest people in the world in the nineteenth century.” James Daschuk, Clearing the Plains.
Thanks to Quebec bison farmer Jacques Seguin, I was able to spend time with a herd of bison, experience their matriarchal society and worship.
My Moccasins, 2016
Inspired by artist Trisha Brown’s dance performance Watermotor, I began to think about the female body, our many “performances” in society, how each is like an intricate, choreographed dance. I thought of my own dances and performances I have put on throughout my life or that have been imposed on me. We all have shoes we must walk in. What do your shoes look like?
Matriarchal Hood, 2015
In this hood, in this story, I envisioned myself a Matriarchal entity able to access the past, present and future, a power found in the feminine collective consciousness. For women in today’s society, we are often called away to perform duties other than nurturing the self. This hood represents an experience that is far from the societal performances that women must act out or be ostracized: ritual, a sacred experience, of the tides and waxing/waning of the moon, listening, hands in earth, being.
The Saints, 2016
11 x 17in
Pencil, watercolor, gouache, recycled mixed media on paper
The mundane or ‘earthly’ is awash in vibrant color and the figures adorned with halos, recalling the traditions of Byzantium and the Renaissance when only the divine and otherworldly were painted. This juxtaposition reminds one of what is truly divine, inspiring and nourishing; the sacred is in plain sight.
Palimpsest: The Girls, 2015
These are images of my two daughters integrating some of their marker drawings with watercolor, polymer medium, found things and canvas, on canvas. Simply put, a palimpsest is an artwork with a history that can be seen, with under-layers being visible under the top-most image. I combined the images with sound recorded by me, mixed by Frederick Tobin, thus creating another layer, a fourth dimension, in the surrounding space.
Identities, 2014
Watercolor and ink on paper.
Commune with ancestors and reconnect with kin, lost through diaspora. These works are an exploration in identity. Through these landscapes of The Plains, I have attempted to further find and feel these links to my past. Landscapes, like identities, are forever changing yet carry with them the memories of the past.
Exhibitions
* 2019, VAV Gallery, Montreal, Qc, group show, Braiding Our Stories, First Voices Week
* 2016, MainLine Gallery, Montreal, Qc, group show, Fragments* 2016 Galerie Mile End, Montreal, Qc, group show, Creations des Femmes
* 2014 Warren G. Flowers Gallery, Montréal, Qc, group show, Beyond Contours
* 2007 Gallery V, Montréal, Qc, group show, Women Artists
* 2008 Corona Theatre, Montréal, Qc, group show
* 2006 Galerie V, Montréal, QC, solo show, Perspectives
* 2006 Campbell Gallery, Westmount, Qc
MEL LEFEBVRE 