Feature artwork is “Reconcile This” by Krystle Coughlin
By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra
Water is life. And no one knows it better than an Indigenous Matriarch.
Guest curated by the ReMatriate Collective, the latest exhibit at the Bill Reid Gallery, qaʔ yəxw – water honours us: womxn and waterways, pays homage to Indigenous womxn and their reciprocal relationship with it.
“Indigenous women are so many things,” says ReMatriate Collective member Tsema Igharas (Tahltan), who is a project lead for the exhibit.
The show features nine different Indigenous artists with works that directly relate to the life-giving element of water. Artworks include carvings, hand-beading, printmaking, video, photography, and performance by artists affiliated with various Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast and the interior of British Columbia. Each piece “honours the important role of Indigenous women on the coast, both past and present, in a timely investigation amid ongoing debates about pipelines and Indigenous rights.”
“These are the narratives that showcase our diversity,” says Igharas. “It’s a narrative we would like to project rather than have something imposed on us. We want to rematriate self-representation.”
qaʔ yəxw is a hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ expression that means “water honours us,” so it’s important to note that the exhibit features Musqueam Water Keeper and hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaker Audrey Seigl.
“The water is as essential to life as our own blood,” Seigl says. “We have a relationship with our language and environment. We are creating reciprocal relationships everywhere and empowering each other. It’s inextricably connected, the language and the land.”
Other members of the ReMatriate Collective are Tiffany Creyke (Tahltan), Angela Marie Schenstead (nêhiyaw), and Denver Lynxleg(Anishinaabe); and the nine featured artists are Richelle Bear Hat (Blackfoot/Cree), Krystle Coughlin (Selkirk), Lindsay Katsitsakataste Delaronde (Mohawk) , Alison Marks (Tlingit), Dionne Paul (Nuxalk/Sechelt), Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena), Marika Echachis Swan (Nuu-chah-nulth), Carrielynn Victor (Sto:lo), and Veronica Waechter (Gitxsan).
qaʔ yəxw – water honours us: womxn and waterways will be exhibited at the Bill Reid Gallery until October 2.
Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.
