4 from 6 curated

Curated by Shelley Niro

October 7th-November 12, 2012
Opening reception October 7, 7-10pm
Art Crawl: November 11, 2011  7-11 pm
Panel discussion and catalogue launch on Saturday the 8th , 1 – 3pm

The exhibition 4 from 6, Four Artists from Six Nations, curated by Shelley Niro features the photographs and paintings of Brenda Mitten, Tracey Anthony, Jay Carrier, and Elliott Graham Doxtater Wynn. The transformation of Indigenous oral history and contemporary experience within the visual imagery of the artists’ works makes vital an important contribution to the language of contemporary art. Artists and Curator Shelley Niro has gathered works by these artists which heighten contemporary perspectives emerging from ancestral knowledge and an oppressive social and political history, while seeking to assist in the formation of a positive cultural, social and political future.

Within this circular fabric of this dialogue, Elliott Graham Doxtater-Wynn layers dream-like visions as metaphysical interpretations of contemporary life. Jay Carrier challenges the misconceptions and stereotypes of Native America particularly surrounding the construct of the “urban Indian.” Brenda Mitten‘s photography records the community of Six Nations on an everyday basis. Tracey Anthony explores the visual narratives of archetypal heroes and anti-heroes in order to deconstruct cultural stereotypes.

The Artists in collaboration with the Curator have worked to confront and transgress Aboriginal art expectations and have created a conversation that explores and scrutinizes cultural stereotypes related to nostalgic echoes of a more natural landscape and traditional community, visions and dream-states, contemporary and urban Indigenous personas, and the recent political tensions such as that surrounding the Six Nations land claims related to Caledonia and the Haldimand tract. The Artists have used unconventional media, individual perspectives, and descriptive imagery to express a vision of both resistance and future possibilities.

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Hamilton Artists Inc. expresses gratitude for the contribution of this body of work by the artists and curator at the time of the opening of its new exhibition facility at 155 James St N, at the corner of James St North and Cannon, Hamilton ON.

• Tracey Anthony is a visual artist of Iroquoian descent currently living on the Mississauga of the New Credit Reserve and holds a degree in drawing and painting from OCAD.
•  Jay Carrier is a visual artist born on Six Nations to Onondaga/Tuscarora parents, who is currently living in Niagara Falls, New York and holds a BFA from the University of Illinois.
• Elliott Graham Doxtater-Wynn is a member of 6 Nations and a visual artist living and working in Thunder Bay, ON, who holds a BFA from Lakehead University.
• Brenda Mitten lives in Ohsweken, ON. She is a re-emerging documentary photographer and a member of the Bear Clan of Seneca Nation.
• Curator Shelley Niro is an independent Curator, filmmaker, visual artist and member of the Mohawk Nation. She graduated from the OCAD with a Diploma of Fine Arts and holds an MFA from UWO.

Hamilton Artists Inc.’s grand opening is October 7th, 7 pm at 155 James Street North and is open to the public. The exhibition 4 from 6, Four Artists from Six Nations, is the inaugural show of the new space.