Introduction
The Living with Concepts exhibition is put together by Blackwood and is composed of works by three artists: Dylan Miner, Jana Winderen, and Tania Willard (Living with Concepts). Living with Concepts sets out to generate conversations on the global environmental crisis, climate change, and climate resilience. The exhibition uses installations at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), which have been on display for three years, from 2021 to 2024. The installations are aimed at responding to the unique ecological context of the campus, involving the university community and visitors on various issues and cultivating spaces that advance education in different disciplines. Presentations by Miner, Winderen, and Willard provide a multisensory experience that evokes the environment around us and invites a deep reflection into the history, present, and future of local and international ecologies.
Miner presents seven platforms made of salvaged old-growth timber and copper in a circle around the campus. The artwork title, At the lake – I see and I remember, serves as an invitation for the viewer to reconnect with the Métis culture and their crucial role in preserving water with copper (Living with Concepts). Winderen presents four-channel audio composition recorded in Norway in the threatened marine life of the Barents Sea. The audios are played twice a day and set in the UTM forest, creating the immersion of a sea in the forest. Willard, a Secwépemc native, taps wind energy from real-time weather data to generate poems about Indigenous storytelling and water protection resilience (Living with Concepts). An underlying theme of the exhibition is to evoke feelings of connection with the environment, mirroring the Indigenous people’s model of interacting with nature. Miner and Willard are of Indigenous ancestry, with their works provoking images of the environment as living. Winderen, who is Norwegian, creates an immersion that raises awareness of the senses to the present and animate nature of marine life.
Description
All the exhibition artworks are set outdoors in complete contact with nature. This use of space reinforces the exhibition’s message on the need to immerse ourselves in nature. In particular, Winderen’s four-channel sea sounds set in a forest gave me a trance-like feeling. The thought of merging sea sounds in a forest setting arose disparate sensations in me that served to awaken my awareness of the beauty of nature. Willard’s integration of technology into conservations implies past and present continuity. Furthermore, it challenges us to find what is around us, whether modern or ancient and use it to conserve and preserve nature. The counterintuitive nature of Willard’s and Windred’s ideas magnifies their creative insight and makes the art even more remarkable. In Miner’s art, I was attracted to the nuanced ways he invites me, as the viewer, to connect with the Métis customs of preserving water resources. In addition, Miner’s artwork is placed in a circle conveying the interconnectedness of nature. Overall, the exhibition positively affects the viewer, immersing them in thoughts and discourses about environmental conservation, history, and justice.
Analysis
The thematic content of the exhibition gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation of the works and text. In particular, paying close attention to the theme of Indigenous resurgence brought out an understanding and the artistic aspects of the works presented. Some of the works, such as Miner’s, are tied to the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples. By keeping this underlying theme in mind, I could pick up the brilliance and nuances of the works presented. The works and texts are selected to complement each other in evoking a personalized connection with nature. Through its works and texts, the exhibition advances the ideas of environmental justice, the rights of indigenous people, and overcoming ecological destruction from colonialism. These themes align with concepts covered in class: environmental justice, Indigenous resurgence, extractivism, and racial capitalocene. In the end, the viewer is invited to conversations on environmental justice and the need to engage with the world as being with an agency (Living with Concepts).
An understanding of environmental justice is central to understanding a vital objective of the exhibition. For instance, the principle of ecological justice affirms the sacredness of Mother Earth and the interdependence of all species (EJ, 1). In the exhibition, a connection between humans and fish is inferred where they are seen as relatives offering themselves to us. Another theme from the course covered in the exhibition is an Indigenous resurgence. There are constant calls for the Indigenous to shake off the lull of colonialism and demand recognition, sovereignty, and jurisdiction (Living with Concepts). Coulthard stresses that the recovery, understanding, and preservation of Indigenous values are the only true and lasting solution to indigenous peoples’ problems (155).
Racial capitalocene is depicted through colonialism, which upsets the relationship between the Indigenous and their environment. Windred’s artwork presents portions of text from competing jurisdictions, worldviews, and values between settlers and the indigenous people. These differences highlight the struggle between extraction, colonialism, and assimilation. The theme of extraction comes out in Miner’s art. We see that nature is part of who the indigenous are, while extraction through colonialism destroys the relationship between nature and the people. Recently, non-Indigenous peoples have gained interest in non-indigenous people’s traditions and culture, intending to extract resources (Bear, 519). The exhibition underlines the importance of reciprocal interaction with mother earth forming a robust network of material and spiritual connections that no settler colonialism can erase. The exhibition comments on environmental justice issues, stressing the need for indigenous people to reclaim their interrelatedness with nature. All species are equal, whether human, animate, or inanimate, with this equality serving as the basis for environmental justice.
Works Cited
Bear, L. L. “Traditional knowledge and humanities: A perspective by a Blackfoot.” Journal of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 39, no. 4, 2012, pp. 518-527, doi:10.1111/j.1540-6253.2012.01742.x.
Coulthard, G. S. Red skin, white masks: Rejecting the colonial politics of recognition. University of Minnesota Press, 2014.
“The Principles of Environmental Justice (EJ).” LVEJO, 1991, lvejo.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ej-jemez-principles.pdf.
Living with Concepts. 2021-2024, UTM Campus, Toronto
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