May 7 – June 18, 2022
Suzanne Morrissette: translations
Satellite space organized by Daphne
La Biennale d’art contemporain autochtone (BACA) – 6ème édition
daphne
5842 rue Saint-Hubert,
Tiohtià:ke, Québec, H2S 2L7
Suzanne Morrissette (Metis – United Empire Loyalists/ Russian Mennonites) was born and raised in Winnipeg. She is a citizen of the Manitoba Metis Federation.
Morrissette’s exhibition at daphne links works that attempt different methods of material translation: the translation of sight into drawing, physical form into sound, sculpture into song, and body movements into audio and video. The purpose of these acts of translation is to explore other ways of understanding that can assist in hearing and comprehending histories and knowledge which have been quieted, but not silenced.
The work began with a longing for a place where she could not be. In response the artist created digital work that placed her in different landscapes where she could playfully engage with her surroundings. Another impetus of the work in this exhibition occurred as the artist travelled to Manitoba every summer to join her family in the Sundance in Grand Rapids. While there she learned of the sound that the river used to make in that community before Manitoba Hydro installed a dam. She also learned that the Elders in that community refer to the river sound as a song and believe that at some time the song will return.
In creating the work that responds to this story the artist thought about the sound as the movement of water over rocks, sediment, and plant matter. She also mused on the song -did it continue to exist under the water? would it return? And finally, how could she hear the song? The score for the bottom of a lake and the other works in this exhibition speak to listening, reflecting on injustice and resilience. The works help us listen for the songs that reside under the water everywhere.
daphne is Tiohtià:ke’s first Indigenous-determined artist-run centre. We adhere to Kanien’ke’haka and Anishinaabe protocols that ground us in this place. daphne exists to give voice to Indigenous artists, whether they are from this territory or elsewhere on Turtle Island. We work to strengthen our artistic communities through exhibitions and other arts-related programming, drawing on these experiences and knowledges to create a space that is solidly our own, in relationship with each other and all that is around us.
