Quick Pick: Yellowknife Forever! at Confederation Centre of the Arts

×

Expand

Pat Kane, “I love Dettah,” 2021, digital photograph (courtesy of the artist)

A new exhibition aims to break some stereotypes about how Canada's North is depicted in art. 

Seven artists — Melaw Nakehk’o, Pat Kane, Darrell Chocolate, Walt Humphries, Richard Van Camp, Doomkitsch and Mike Mitchell — are featured in the show, Yellowknife Forever!, on now through Sept. 29 at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Galleries West contributor Sarah Swan, who lives and works in Yellowknife, curated the exhibition. 

She says that “while art made for tourists describes Yellowknife as a charming town in the middle of a pristine wilderness, this art tells a more gothic story.”

Northern Gothic, she calls it, riffs off Southern Gothic's macabre imagery and themes of alienation and spirituality, but with a unique northern twist. “Though the concept of Northern Gothic is lesser known, it too describes pastoral visions and the undercurrents of trauma that lurk below their surface,” she says.

×

Expand

Melaw Nakehk'o, “Shapeshift,” 2024, caribou hide, beaver fur, beads, thread, embroidery (photo by Bob Wilson)

“Northern Gothics are Dene hunters and trappers who have lived in the region since time immemorial, and the rugged individualists (misfits and eccentrics also) who first migrated north to extract precious metals from the land. However, where Southern Gothic is decidedly dark, Northern Gothic lets light through the cracks, reflecting Indigenous sovereignty and power.” ■

PS: Worried you missed something? See previous Galleries West stories here or sign up for our free biweekly newsletter.