HONOUR | RESPECT – Artist Statement
In the Anishinaabe culture there is a teaching known as ‘The Prophecy of the Seven Fires’ which tells of a time on this earth when the young Anishinaabe people will choose to retrace the trails of their ancestors and ask guidance of their elders on how to live in a good way and follow the teachings handed down for generations. The time of the seventh fire is a time of coming home to traditional values and honouring the land.
These past couple of years I have been making time to reconnect with my language and traditional teachings as well as traditional craft. I have always carried with me the Indigenous values I was raised with, being fortunate enough to have been raised with the teachings of two Indigenous cultures, the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe People. It is the active practice of speaking the language and engaging in art forms that reflect those teachings that I was lacking. This is the beginning of retracing that path, to follow the path of my ancestors and guide my spirit home.
Through this body of work, I explore the ways in which my contemporary art practice is connected to the traditional teachings I was raised with. My glass practice has always been focused on elements of the natural world. In my work I attempt to honour the visual beauty and fine details that exist within nature in order to evoke a sense of connection between the viewer and the subject matter. My patterns and colour palette reference vast landscape as well as microscopic details of stones, plants and other organic matter. I believe each series stems from a place of great curiosity and deep respect.
Artist Bio
Ariel Kesike Hill – Bneshiinhs is an Indigenous artist hailing from the Six Nations and Wiikwemkoong First Nations. Hill holds a jewelry certificate from the Kootenay School of the Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Alberta University of the Arts with a major in Glass. Hill is represented by Art First Gallery (Revelstoke, BC), Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, Project A (Canmore, AB), Guildworks (Bloomfield, ON), Banff Trading Post (Banff, AB) and Coal Town Goods (Fernie, BC).
