Light at the tip of the brush

Painting reality

A few days after our meeting in the forest, we found Lana Whiskeyjack in her creative workshop in downtown Edmonton. Here and there are placed on the wall canvases already finished and packaged as well as paintings which are still on the easel.

The works of this visual storyteller, as she likes to define herself, are a mixture of expressionism, realism and futurism. She explains that her work is based on memory and life experiences as a woman. do not (create).

One of his paintings shows a woman returning from a hunting trip, a nod to her kohkom (grandmother ), Caroline, who had learned to hunt in order to provide for her family.

The latter is the mirror of Lana Whiskeyjack, her roc. My grandmother was a traditional midwife, who helped many women in our communitythanks to her extensive knowledge of childbirth, motherhood and rites of passage concerning femininity.

In addition, she was a traditional practitioner who knew in depth the secrets of medicinal plants.

Lana Whiskeyjack also highlights her sense of humor kohkomwhich allowed him not only to transmit lessons, but also to subtly correct bad behavior, a bit like Molière, who worked to correct morals through theater while making people laugh.

« When someone disrespected a woman, she used humor to put him in his place, and publicly. »

I grew up with this kind of role model. It is therefore very important that I continue his work through my painting, my teaching and my engagement within the community.

Another painting seen in Lana Whiskeyjack’s studio depicts two women leaning against a tree trunk after picking berries and medicinal plants, while another depicts a scene of bucolic life. We see in particular a woman praying and who recalls Amanda, Lana Whiskeyjack’s aunt, who today acts as matriarch and guardian of family traditions.

Lana’s paintings also express the future she would like for her own children and those of others. I wish for a better world for our indigenous children.