New Age Warriors

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Catherine Blackburn, “The Waterhen Weaver,” 2018 (photo by Tenille Campbell, Sweetmoon Photography)

Drawing a body to be seen culturally is at the heart of Saskatchewan artist Catherine Blackburn’s exhibition, New Age Warriors. She has created futuristic armour, equal parts shield, ornament and empowering message, for everyday warriors to don in their fight against racism and sexism.

Blackburn’s previous investigations of her Dene and European heritage through beading and language produced the exquisite and incisive body of work Tell Me the Truth, which grapples with themes of loss and survival.

For this new show, on view until May 5 at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery, she elaborates on this interest, fashioning a personal language from multiple forms of writing and expression, including acronyms, syllabics, graffiti and American sign language. The exhibition, which includes photographs and beaded works, is touring various Saskatchewan galleries.

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Catherine Blackburn, “Language Link #5,” 2018

plastic beads, glass beads, synthetic sinew, leather and nylon, 3” x 6” x 5” (photo by Emma Anderson, courtesy of the Mann Art Gallery, Prince Albert, Sask.)

Jutting shoulders, sharp as knives, suggest outstretched wings or unfurling petals on a breastplate titled Armour, The Front-Runner Fighter. It joins other beaded armour and headpieces, gathered in a ring as if for a ritual or sewing circle, at the room’s centre.

The installation suggests a future history with works displayed as artifacts attributed to the “early 22nd century” or “fwd. 2075.” This mock anthropological aspect questions romantic notions of pre-contact Indigenous culture and points instead to a living identity enmeshed with popular culture.

Identified by Blackburn as futuristic regalia, the pieces defy categorization, intermingling touches of hip-hop culture and cosplay aesthetics with traditional materials and methods.

Her refusal to treat Indigenous cultural expressions as relics informs the vibrant colour palette, which is reminiscent of 8-bit video game graphics. Jagged-edged shapes in cyan, magenta and yellow create an analogy between images composed of pixels and those composed of beads, blurring the line between high-tech and traditional.

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Catherine Blackburn, “Language Link #7,” 2018

glass beads, nylon and leather, 2” x 7” x 4” (photo by Emma Anderson, courtesy of the Mann Art Gallery, Prince Albert, Sask.)

As I walk past Armour, Mother of Mobilization, vinyl ribbons trailing from epaulettes stir in greeting or restless agitation. These hybrid regalia are not content to be still; they are alive with the spirits of the women who inspired them.

Nine large-scale photographs printed on aluminum show women enrobed in the armour of a new age warrior. Blackburn was mindful of her choices. "Each woman is an inspiration in my life,” she says.“They are all strong, Indigenous role models in their communities and the community at large, whether that be at the forefront or behind the scenes."

Blackburn’s kaleidoscopic carapaces support, rather than contain, their power. Titles like Ms. Chief of Change and Mother of Mobilization recognize their embodiment of culturally undervalued modes of power and leadership, such as love and motherhood.

Blackburn has stitched together the social commentary of contemporary art, the crafted artistry of haute couture, the love expressed in decorated Dene clothing, and the storytelling of traditional designs. In doing so, she constructs a vibrant future where the war for inclusivity has been fought and won. ■

New Age Warriors is on view at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery from Feb. 1 to May 5, 2019. It showed at the Mann Art Gallery in Prince Albert from Sept. 14 to Oct. 25, 2018, and will tour to the Chapel Gallery in North Battleford from Sept. 14 to Nov. 4, 2019, and the Art Gallery of Swift Current from March 7 to May 3, 2020.