Biography
I am a multi-disciplinary visual artist of Mi’kmaq decent who calls the west coast of Newfoundland home. My work is derived from a combination of popular and traditional cultural reflections, which I portray through my passion for and knowledge of pop culture, traditional craft, and my own cultural practices. Throughout the recent past I have developed an affinity for language, mainly directed towards learning my ancestors native tongue of Mi’kmaq. Growing up in Newfoundland has influenced my art a great deal, with a very unique cultural background consisting of Scottish, Irish, French and Mi’kmaq along with a variety of other cultures, its no wonder I feel the urge to not be categorized as just a painter, sculptor, photographer or performer. I feel that having this unique upbringing has given me such a rich cultural background that it is, in my case, very difficult to create in one medium.
Currently, through the processes of sculpture, digital media, text based media, installation, painting, endurance performance and various others, I strive to push boundaries and play with the ideas of re-appropriation, reclamation, participation and the artifact within traditional aboriginal craft, ceremony, and contemporary culture. By this means of remixing artistic practices, storytelling and creating participatory objects and interactive performance spaces, I aim to form an atmosphere where traditional meets contemporary, shifting preconceived notions on an object or an actions original function or intent.
