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Three new exhibitions are open at The Tom Thomson Art Gallery.
The new exhibitions include Zoongide ‘ewin – Strong Heart, the first solo exhibition of works by local Indigenous artist Brent Henry, the short film Thunder Rolling Home directed by local filmmaker Sharon Isaac, and The Dream of Deep Ecology, featuring work by local artist Becky Comber and Alberta based artist Jennifer Wanner.
The exhibition featuring Henry’s artwork looks at the legacy of the country’s residential school system through layers of graphic figurative drawings to create visually discomforting paintings and sculptures.
The TOM says the work compels the viewers to consider the consequences of the residential schools and the persistence of intergenerational trauma and colonial racism.
Brent Henry Postcard (Image provided by TOM Gallery)
The Dream of Deep Ecology presents botanical focused works of art to inspire an eco-centric world view. The exhibition brings attention to the important but precarious interconnections that exist within our ecosystems through a combination of delicate photogenic cut-outs, collages of at-risk plant species, and an anthropomorphic stop-motion animation.
Dream of Deep Ecology Postcard (Image provided by TOM gallery)
The film Thunder Rolling Home is a film which chronicles a family’s resilience against colonization and reflects on the residential school system in which language and culture were taken away, told through the words of a grandfather and survivor.
“Thunder Rolling Home is a film about my father’s time spent in the Native Residential School system and the courage it took to reclaim his heritage. He tell the story through a poem, Picking Up The Pieces, written by myself Sharon Isaac. The viewer then is taken to present day and comes full circle and showing a brighter future with the reclaiming of our culture, pride in our hair through braids, dancers, grandmother’s love, and language revitalization,” says Isaac.
The TOM says the exhibitions are available for viewing now until April 30, with a coffee reception and artist talk scheduled for March 12 at 11 a.m. led by Wanner. She will share insight into her practice and process, followed by a demonstration with Comber.
Admission is free and all are welcome, however, space is limited and pre-registration is encouraged.