https://www.comoxvalleyartgallery.com

Birchbark Technology

CVAG is pleased to host KC Adams for a production + community residency from January 9th – 18th. KC is creating new work on site at CVAG and on the land, for her exhibition at CVAG, opening on Saturday, January 18th at 1 pm. KC’s responsive artwork bridges communities through deep sharing of her art and cultural practices.

KC ADAMS  /  BIRCHBARK TECHNOLOGY

18 January – 29 February 2020              

 

PART 1 /  Contemporary Gallery, 2017– ongoing

new works on paper, installation, ceremony

“I am currently creating new work called Birchbark Technology – digital prints of circuit boards and birchbark, embellished with painting and beading, that explores the relationship I have with my ancestors’ territorial land and water. I am of Cree and Ojibway descent and I have been taught that we all relate to our environment and that we can’t be separated from it. We must live in balance with the land and waters to protect all our relations, which includes all current and future living entities. I am interested in my ancestors’ knowledge and how they worked with land and water technologies to thrive. Their knowledge carries a wealth of wisdom and experience including the importance of balance, and their ability to adapt to new technologies. Birchbark Technology is about embracing past and current technologies to help guide us towards a better relationship with land and water.”

 

PART 2 /  George Sawchuk Gallery, 2017– ongoing

video program

“In the summer of 2015, I traveled to Grand Rapids and I was moved by the people who are walking the path of their ancestors. They are Ki-tah-pah-tumak aski ethinewak (Keeper of the Land). They are using all their knowledge and power to protect the land and waters in their community. The Ki-tah-pah-tumak aski ethinewak have a strong spiritual connection to Mother Earth. They understand that it is their responsibility to practice humility, reverence and reciprocity towards the land. I will be working on a video about how the land, water and the Indigenous people are affected by the building of a Hydro Dam in Grand Rapids Manitoba. The content is derived from images, video, interviews and poetry by former Grand Rapid resident Duncan Mercredi.”

 

KC ADAMS is a Winnipeg-based artist who graduated from Concordia University with a B.F.A in studio arts.Adams has had several solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and been in three biennales including the PHOTOQUAI: Biennale des images du monde in Paris, France. Adams participated in residencies at the Banff Centre, the Confederation Art Centre in Charlottetown, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Parramatta Arts Gallery in Australia. Her work is in many permanent collections Nationally and Internationally. Twenty pieces from the Cyborg Hybrid series are in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery in Ottawa and four trees from Birch Bark Ltd, are in the collection of the Canadian Consulate of Australia, NSW. She was the scenic designer for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Going Home Star: Truth and Reconciliation. She helped design a 30-foot public art sculpture entitled Niimama for the Winnipeg Forks and a piece for the United Way of Winnipeg entitled Community. Adams was awarded the Winnipeg Arts Council’s Making A Mark Award and Canada’s Senate 150 medal recipient for her accomplishments with her Perception photo series.

SINGING TO THE WATER / a production and community residency at CVAG from January 9–18, preceded the exhibition. During this time, KC engaged the community in site-specific making and ceremony to develop components of the exhibition.