· .
PPRESS RELEASE FROM PAMA
·
Important Stories Being Told at PAMA as part of Peel
150
 |
| James Simon Mishibinijima |
As part of the
Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives (PAMA) Peel 150:
Stories of Canada exhibition, First Nations artist James Simon Mishibinijima’s
work is woven through the timeline showcasing two powerful series: his Residential
School Paintings and Seven Grandfather Teachings. PAMA
is offering free admission all summer (until Aug. 31) in celebration of Peel
and Canada 150.
Born in 1954 in
on Manitoulin Island, James Simon Mishibinijima grew up in Wikwemikong, one of
the few Unceded Territories in Canada. Never the subject of a treaty,
Wikwemikong has been able to preserve some of its pre-Columbian First Nations
characteristics.
Mishibinijima
means “Birchbark Silver Shield.” As a boy, Mishibinijima was given the name
James Alexander Simon by missionaries who found his name difficult to
pronounce. His path as an artist was set early on as he was growing up in
Wikwemikong. In some ways he feels that his destiny in art found him, pulling
him in an unexpected direction away from an inclination to become an RCMP
officer and toward a life as a professional artist.
Among his early
teachers was Francis Kagige, an artist and neighbour, and recognized as one of
the important pioneers of Wikwemikong art. Kagige had one of the few painting
studios in the community. Mishibinijima would frequently visit his elder there
where he was given his earliest instructions in painting and some lessons about
style. Kagige also shared teachings about their Ojibwe culture and told the
young artist his stories. The community’s elders and Mishibinijima’s relatives
also imparted oral histories and described the myths and legends that are part
of his cultural heritage.
Over the course
of his career, he developed two signature styles. One is known as his “mountain
paintings.” A dominant characteristic of these paintings is the blending of the
land and the human
elements to create images of energies that the land generously provides to all
who seek it as sustenance.
A second
personal style adapts the style of ancient pictographic paintings. Just as the
painted petroglyphs make use of mysterious visual symbolism referencing human
forms and translating radiant energies in pictorial terms, so Mishibinijima
found in their spare human-like symbols potent signs with which to set down
his, his family’s, and his community’s stories.
The paintings
comprising the current exhibition at PAMA entitled “Indian Residential School
Paintings” tell – illustrate – Mishibinijima’s mother’s stories as she gave
them to him and as they revealed themselves to him in dreams. Her stories are
depicted as pictographs.
They recount her experiences when, as a
young Ojibwe woman, she was a student in the middle years of the twentieth
century at the Spanish Indian Residential School situated on the northern banks
of Georgian Bay.
Mishibinijima’s
mother passed on her stories to him later in her adult life, over the course of
perhaps a decade and a half. By giving her stories to her son, she exhorted him
to “paint them.”i
By sharing such shocking details from her life as a young adult, it was
her hope that the truths of “what happened” would live on into the future,
beyond her own life.
The paintings’
deceptively simple style provides the maximum opportunities for someone
experiencing his paintings, particularly children and young adults, to reflect
on this tragic chapter in our nation’s history and to understand the pain and
trauma that people their own age experienced. His paintings are intended to
open dialogues about personal and community values, and about the need to
confront the truth.
PAMA is a place
to explore and learn about Peel Region’s culture and heritage, as well as use
conversation, questions and stories to help make new and fascinating
connections to the surrounding community. Throughout the year, PAMA offers a
variety of workshops and programs for all ages, families and adults. With so
many different programs to choose from, PAMA has something for everyone.
Operated by the Region of Peel, PAMA is located at 9 Wellington St. E. in
Brampton. Visit pama.peelregion.ca to learn more.
SHORT VIDEO BY CANADA ART CHANNEL - INTERVIW WITH JAMES SIMON
https://youtu.be/jegqMHz3YUA
https://youtu.be/jegqMHz3YUA
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Contact:
Erin Fernandes
Marketing
Co-ordinator
Peel
Art Gallery, Museum and
Archives
Tel:
905-791-4055, ext. 7596
Cell:
416-312-3425
erin.fernandes@peelregion.ca
Twitter:
@visitpama
Stephen
Weir
Stephen
Weir and Associates
stephen@stephenweir.com
Tel:
416-489-5868 | cell: 416-801-3101
www.stephenweir.com
twitter:
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sweirsweir
