My work as an artist explores themes of identity, relation, belonging, and memory through the lens of my relationships to my parents and ancestors via the material belongings they have created and collected.

My artistic process is as important for me as a finished product, there is a sense of navigating relationships, piecing together fragments of memories, allowing my materials to dictate their own proximities. By processing the material creations and inherited items collected by both myself and my ancestors through my art, I attempt to make sense of my place within Indigenous community.

As a way of understanding the tangible and intangible aspects of my family legacy, I have focused my research on Indigenous relationships with material creations. I am curious about how these physical material relationships can become a stand-in for Indigenous community when ancestral bonds are broken. By examining my personal and familial ties to the act of “collecting” and the preservation of “collections,” I investigate the legacy of settler colonialism that contributed to shaping my family.

By utilizing a wide range of materials - both collected and inherited - I aim to confront the deep sentimental attachment I feel to the stories of my family embodied in these items. I use my materials in slow, methodical, and repetitive processes like stitching, beading, and weaving which prompt me to be present and mindful of the memories and emotions that are recalled by these items.

My work strives to process painful family histories and, with gentleness, navigate through them. My goal is to reclaim my Indigeneity through the artistic process and to continue the journey of generational healing initiated by the generations that came before me. I am hopeful that this journey resonates with others who are processing the legacies of settler-colonialism that have impacted their sense of belonging.

I also hope to use my art to explore the collection practices of institutions that hold our Indigenous Material Relatives, especially the institutions committed to resisting the ongoing project of settler colonialism by adopting culturally informed practices. I hope that my artistic work helps these material relatives to be viewed in the context of their importance in the lives of those that created and inherited them by highlighting the memories and stories they hold.