MERYL mcMaster: nikihci-âniskotâpân | BloodLine
McMichael Canadian Art CollectioN February 4 – May 28, 2023
Remai Modern July 22 – December 31, 2023
Musée d'art de Joliette February 10 – May 12, 2024
Glenbow Museum June 8 - September 1, 2024
HEARD MUSEUM October 5, 2024 - March 2, 2025
Meryl McMaster (nihtâwikiwin 1988) onîkânêw iyiniw pîkiskwêstamâkêw wawêsihcikêwinihk anohc, osihtât misâki masinipayihowina kinwâpamisowins kâ-nitonamihk wiya nêhiyaw/siksika êkwa anglo/dutch ayisîniwêwin atiht wêpac osihcikêwina, kâ-astêki ôta, astâw kayâs kinwâpahcikêwina osci iyiniwak mêkwâc itôtamowina, kotakwak itêhtamwak mâmitonêyicikêwina isi kâwi otinamihk askiy, wihtamihk isi powâtamowina ispayihowina. owawêyi ayônisa, wiya kâ-osihtât, astêwa otâyisînêma, kayâsi cistâwêwina ayônisa êkwa sihcikêwina ayônisa.
McMaster mêkwâc otatoskêwina masinipayinwa ana wawêsihcikêw êkota otaskîhk ohtâwiya nêhiyaw wahkômâkana êkota mihko pihêw nêhiyaw askihkân sâwanohk kisiskâciwin. kâ-mâci oskâki ôhi itâskonikâtêwa isi tipahikanihk êkota nisto mitâtaht askiya isi nêhiyaw êkwa âpihtawikosisân iskwêwak kâ-pê itohtêcik pwâmayisk wiya êkota pêyakohêwahoniyâpiy. kâ-êsi wihtahk : “âta ahpô itikwê namôy ka-kiskêyihtênâw kahkiyaw tâpwêwina ohci âniskôhpicikanak, ka-kî-kiskisinâw mitêhihk.” okâwiymâw êkwa wiya, McMaster ahkamêyimo ta-osihtât osihcikêwi kiskêyimowisowin, ayiwâk osihtât otatoskêwina ôta kinwâpahtamowinihk nistam itôtahk, anima osihcikêwin osci cikâstêpayicikan.
Meryl McMaster (b. 1988) is a leading voice in art today, making large-scale photographic self-portraits that explore her mixed Plains Cree/Siksika and Anglo/Dutch ancestry. While some of her earliest works, included here, infuse historical representations of Indigenous peoples with contemporary aspects, others suggest a sort of imaginative repossession of the land, articulated in dreamlike scenarios. Her elaborate costumes, which she crafts herself, embody the blended strains of her ancestry, often echoing historical garments and ceremonial regalia.
McMaster’s more recent works picture the artist on the home territory of her father’s Plains Cree family on Red Pheasant Cree Nation in central Saskatchewan. The newest of these reach for connection across time to the three generations of remarkable Plains Cree and Métis women who came before the artist in the family line. As McMaster puts it, “While we may never know the full truths of our ancestors, we can still hold their memories close to our hearts.” A mother now herself, she continues to delve for the roots of her cultural identity, expanding her practice in this exhibition to include, for the first time, the medium of film.
The exhibition is co-organized by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Remai Modern. Curated by Sarah Milroy, Chief Curator, McMichael Canadian Art Collection and Tarah Hogue, Curator (Indigenous Art), Remai Modern.
NÔHKOMINAK ÂCIMOWINA / STORIES OF MY GRANDMOTHERS
nôhkominak âcimowina opimâtisiwiniwâwa osci McMaster nisto ohkoma, ohkoma, Lena McMaster (1921-2013) ocâpâna, Isabelle (Bella) Wuttunee (1898-1980); êkwa okihci câpâna, Matilda (Tilly) Schmidt (1870-1955). Kahkiyaw okiskisiwiniwâwa mawipayinwa isi 130 askiya ê-wîkicik êkota mihko pihêw nêhiyaw askihkân, êkota sâwanohk kisiskâciwan. McMaster oski astoskêwina mâcipayinwa ocâpana masinahikan, ê-masinahahk tânisi êsi pimâtisit tahto kîsikâw-isi otatoskêwina êkwa wêpanwa isi kiyohkêwak êkwa ôtînâhk kâ-itohtêyit. McMaster mâmawipitam ôhi kiskisiwina isi ohtâwiypana, okihci okâwêsa êkwa ohcâwêsa, êkwa kotakwa êkota mihko pihêw askihkân. “ka-petâyân isi mekwâc ôma, ni-nôkohtân. ka-kweskinâkohtâyân kîkway ka-kî-nakatahkik kiki niya mîna niwîtotîmâkanak, eyikohk kwayaskweyihcikewin âcimowina e-kiskisitotamehk, McMaster itwêw, “wîhtamâkewak ohci nâkatohkewin, pimâcihowin, ekwa sôhkâtisiwin. ka-oskinâkohcikehk sâpô naspisîhcikana, waskawinikewin ohci kiskeyihtamowin tastaw newo iskwewak aniskaciwin namôy ekwa kâcikâtew."
Stories of My Grandmothers draws on the lives of three of McMaster’s paternal female relatives: her grandmother Lena McMaster (1921–2013); her great-grandmother Isabella (Bella) Wuttunee (1898–1980); and her great-great-grandmother Matilda (Tilly) Schmidt (1870–1955). Collectively their experience spans 130 years lived on the Red Pheasant Cree Nation, in present-day central Saskatchewan. McMaster’s new works have their genesis in her great-grandmother’s diaries, which contain simple and casually noted descriptions of events in her daily life—from chores and the weather to special visitors and trips to town. McMaster has blended these memories with those of her father, her great-aunt, her great-uncle, and others in the Red Pheasant community. “By establishing a dialogue with my grandmothers, I keep their memories relevant and alive, “McMaster says, “making visible a transfer of knowledge between four generations of women.”
Remai Modern acquires new work by Meryl McMaster in conjunction with bloodline exhibition
Remai Modern has acquired the nine new photographs and two videos in nôhkominak âcimowina / Stories of My Grandmothers for its collection. … “We are incredibly excited to share Meryl McMaster’s poetic and imaginative works with the community,” says Tarah Hogue, Curator (Indigenous Art) at Remai Modern. “Her photographs and videos help us to tell the story of this place, including both the strength and resiliency of her ancestors as well as the colonial policies they endured. These evocative works offer many entry points for viewers, from prairie ecology and relations to land, to family histories and the stories we tell about ourselves.”
Journey through generations with Meryl McMaster
nôhkominak âcimowina / Stories of My Grandmothers draws on the lives of three of McMaster’s paternal female relatives: her grandmother Lena McMaster (1921–2013); her great-grandmother Isabella (Bella) Wuttunee (1898–1980); and her great-great-grandmother Matilda (Tilly) Schmidt (1870–1955). Collectively their experience spans 130 years lived on the Red Pheasant Cree Nation. McMaster’s new works have their genesis in her great-grandmother’s diaries, which contain simple and casually noted descriptions of events in her daily life—from chores and the weather to special visitors and trips to town. McMaster has blended these memories with those of her father, her great-aunt, her great-uncle, and others in the Red Pheasant community. “By establishing a dialogue with my grandmothers, I keep their memories relevant and alive, “McMaster says, “making visible a transfer of knowledge between four generations of women.”
PROGRAMS
Artist Conversation: Meryl McMaster and Tarah Hogue
Miyawata Culture and Remai Modern are proud to co-present a conversation between artist Meryl McMaster and curator Tarah Hogue. Hosted in conjunction with the opening of Meryl McMaster: Bloodline, this event is part of the Poundmaker Performance Festival and Plains Indian Sign Language Workshop. This event takes place at Poundmaker Museum and Gallery.
Red Pheasant Calendar Project - Kōhkomak ékwa ōsima (Grandmothers & Grandchildren)
This project was initiated by Adjunct Curator (Indigenous Art) Tarah Hogue (Métis) and carried out by Indigenous Programs Coordinator Kim Bird (George Gordon First Nation) with the assistance of Development Associate Hayley Linklater (Couchiching First Nation) and photographer Tenille Campbell (English River First Nation/Métis). This project responded to a request from artist Meryl McMaster for Remai Modern to engage with her home community of Red Pheasant Cree Nation. Inspired by her photographs in the series nôhkominak âcimowina / Stories of my Grandmothers (2022), which pays homage to McMaster’s matriarchal lineage, the project focused on the knowledge and stories shared by grandmothers with their grandchildren.
REVIEWS
Charlene K Lau, “Meryl McMaster,” Artforum
”Like the artist and her relations, they come from the land, imbued by ancestral stories and a deep sense of who came before. McMaster embodies and feels their presence wholly as a means of remembering, knowing, and following their paths, while expanding her bloodline via new trails.”
