Temps et contre-temps
Louis-Karl Picard Sioui and Teharihulen Michel Savard
-From February 23rd to April 28th 2024
Opening: February 24th at 17h
Part of Manif d’art 11
At the dawn of the Earth, the spirit-turtle impregnated the mother of the Gods by placing two arrows under her bed, as can be seen represented in the centre of the installation. The mother then gave birth to twins: Iouske’a (order, warmth, regeneration) and Tahwihskaron’ (chaos, cold, death), symbolized here by the two beds.
The first bed, made of stones, conveys coldness and hardness; a reminder of the suffering caused by Tahwihskaron’ while also referencing the giant stone cannibals he created, called the Strendu. The second bed, covered in pine boughs, symbolizes the fertile sleep induced by a night in the forest, where the regenerative power of Iouske’a reigns. A linden tree branch serves as both a pillow and, according to mythology, a tool for combatting the Strendu, like the axe of the Skahndawatih. In the centre, a wigwam symbolizes the belly of Mother Earth, the original resting place where the first rhythms of the heart and of the drum were passed down.
Through their work, the artists state that a knowledge of mythology can help fight against the forces of breathlessness and cold. However, they also remind us that this is a dance, that these two forces follow a rhythm that has been set since the beginning of time, and that they are inextricably linked.
Historian, anthropologist, writer, curator, and visual artist Louis-Karl Picard-Soui defines himself as a creator. Drawing from the myths and symbols of his Wendat Nation, Picard-Soui shares the wisdom and values of his ancestors in the fight against colonial oppression. His works have been presented at the Huron-Wendat Museum, the McCord-Stewart Museum, and as part of Manif d’art 7.
Teharihulen Michel Savard is a Wendat artist whose works, whether they address political, social, or spiritual themes, stem from the practice of reappropriating his ancestral culture. Since the early 2000s, his work has been shown at the McCord Stewart Museum, in Manif d’art 7, at the Musée regional de Rimouski, and at VU, among others.
