Storied Objects

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Christi Belcourt, “Every Dot a Prayer for the Saskatchewan Rivers” (detail), 2022

acrylic on canvas (collection of University of Saskatchewan)

Few exhibitions are as blatantly gorgeous as Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation. On view at the Remai Modern in Saskatoon until May 22, it bursts with breathtaking colour, pattern and detail. The beauty lures us in but isn’t our biggest reward.

Curator Tarah Hogue has ingeniously woven a web of connections among the objects to tell the stories of Métis people on the Prairies. Her curatorial approach draws on Métis scholar Sherry Farrell Racette’s concept of the storied object. “They remember,” Racette writes in a 2011 essay in Manifestations: New Native Art Criticism. “They remember us. They remember for us.”

In the exhibition’s first room, a dazzling Christi Belcourt painting encapsulates this idea. Belcourt, who traces her ancestry to the Métis Cree-speaking community of Manitou Sakhigan (Lac Ste. Anne, Alta.), uses countless juxtaposed dots to create images that refer to Métis beadwork. 

Every Dot a Prayer for the Saskatchewan Rivers depicts plants, birds and fish of the prairie ecosystem. Belcourt is voicing concern about the precarity of the Saskatchewan river system, which gives life to millions. The painting’s interwoven composition communicates the interdependence of living things, acting as a visual record of the many threatened species that inhabit this territory, helping us remember, now and in the future.

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Grandmother Artists, “Saddle,” 1875-1880

glass seed beads, metal faceted beads, smoked moose or buffalo hide, cotton print, glass trade beads, wool and horse hair; and “Saddle Blanket,”1875-1890, faceted glass beads, cotton-wool blend fabric and wool fringe, installation view in “Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation” at Remai Modern, Saskatoon (collection of Royal Saskatchewan Museum, photo by Carey Shaw)

An unusual aspect of the show is the frequent juxtaposition of historical works with contemporary ones. Again and again, they are presented side by side, as if time has folded in on itself and all artists exist contemporaneously. Hogue refers to these historical works as “grandmothers.” One stunning example is a  beaded saddle, accompanied by an exquisite saddle blanket. As with many of the older works, little is known about who made them, where they lived or their tribal affiliations. However, as the wall text notes, “every form and material is encoded with history and memory.” By presenting the grandmothers this way, Hogue allows them to speak as much to the present as they do to the past. 

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Katherine Boyer, “The Sky Vest” (detail), 2021

2" x 4" boards and seed beads on smoked hide, installation view in “Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation,” Remai Modern, Saskatoon (courtesy the artist, photo by Carey Shaw)

While including historical works is a way to reclaim stories, it also underscores that Métis ways of creating objects exemplify a worldview. The continuity between historical and contemporary pieces is striking. “Contemporary work doesn’t come out of nowhere,” Hogue says. “A number of artists in the exhibition are turning to that work to revitalize, relearn, those traditional ways of working into new forms.” Many of the contemporary works, such as Katherine Boyer’s stunning The Sky Vest, use traditional Métis forms and techniques, whether beadwork, quillwork or tufting.

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Lynette La Fontaine, “Fire Back Mask,” 2021

seed beads, ribbon and cotton fabric (collection the Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria; photo by Carey Shaw)

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Grandmother Artist, “Tobacco Bag,” circa 1916

hide, silk embroidery thread and thread (courtesy the Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg) and, right, Lynette La Fontaine, “Fire Back Mask,” 2021, seed beads, ribbon and cotton fabric (collection the Royal B.C. Museum, Victoria; photo by Carey Shaw)

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Other contemporary works reference specific grandmothers. For example, Lynette La Fontaine, who has roots in northern Saskatchewan and Métis communities in Manitoba, was inspired by a historical tobacco bag at the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg to create Fire Back Mask. Both bear the words “fire back.” While the historical work is a hide bag with fringe and embroidered flowers, La Fontaine’s response takes the form of a mask of dangling ribbons. The text and two-spirit colours are symbols of protection and resistance. 

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Jason Baerg, “Wâsakâm ᐋᐧᓴᑳᒼ Along the Shore,” 2016

tempera and oil on canvas, installation view in “Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation,” 2022, Remai Modern, Saskatoon (courtesy the artist, photo by Carey Shaw)

The continuity between historical and contemporary works is not only in form and material but, just as importantly, extends to cultural knowledge. Toronto-based Jason Baerg, who was raised in Prince Albert, Sask., creates abstract paintings grounded in Cree-language concepts and thinking, says Hogue. Implicit in the selection of his work is Hogue’s assertion that Métis culture is alive and well, necessarily evolving to embrace new forms, materials and ideas. Storied Objects, by generously welcoming the grandmothers, creates space for them to commune with contemporary works, yielding a depth of experience rarely achieved by group shows. ■  

Storied Objects: Métis Art in Relation at Remai Modern in Saskaton from Sept. 24, 2022, to May 22, 2023. Artists include Jason Baerg, Christi Belcourt, Kim Belhumeur, Bob Boyer, Daphne Boyer, Katherine Boyer, Amy Briley, Wilfred Burton, Tammy Chief, David Garneau, Grandmother Artists, Margaret Harrsion, David Heinrichs, Brenda Hrycuik, Jennine Krauchi, Lynette La Fontaine, Rosalie Laplante Laroque, Maria-Margaretta, Dylan Miner, Mona Moquin, Bernadette Murray, Audie Murray, Jocelyn Ormerod, Brianna Oversby, Brenna Pacholko, Kathie Pruden-Nansel, Melanie Monique Rose, Ashley Shaw, Jessie Ray Short and Cheryl Troupe.

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