After 10 months of effort and no less than 87,000 beads, Métis artist Christina Lennox recreated in beadwork a photo of her great-grandmother taken in the 1930s. An approach that allowed her to get closer to her family heirloom.
It was a feat of determination
says Christina Lennox, who decided to take on the project after coming across the image while looking through a box of family photos at her grandfather’s home in Richmond, British Columbia.
We can see in black and white his great-grandmother, Annabella McKay, crossing a street in Winnipeg.
Open in full screen mode
The original photo of Annabella McKay crossing a street in Winnipeg in the late 1930s.
Photo: Courtesy of Christina Lennox
There is something that really captivated me about this image, she looks very playful and fun in this photo
explains the artist who is part of the Métis Nation of British Columbia, but whose family was originally from the Lockport region, located 2 km from Winnipeg.
From the stories I heard about her, she was a very persistent and stubborn lady and when I look at this photo, that’s what I perceive
she explains.
And these are traits that Christina Lennox seems to have inherited, since it took a little stubbornness and a lot of resilience to complete the project.
Open in full screen mode
The beadwork portrait of Christina Lennox’s great-grandmother, Annabella McKay, made from 87,000 beads.
Photo : - / Jackie McKay
To achieve this, she began by scanning the photo in black and white and uploading it to software that assigned each pixel a number determining the color of pearl she should use.
It wasn’t particularly fun to make, she laughs. Beading is often said to be relaxing, but when it also involves sitting in front of a computer saying numbers in a digital voice for eight hours a day, it’s exhausting!
Open in full screen mode
The process of creating the portrait was not easy, according to the artist.
Photo: Courtesy of Christina Lennox
But in the end, the great pleasure of the project was to feel more connected to her great-grandmother, about whom she knows little.
The memory of the son
Although Christina Lennox knows little about her great-grandmother, her son, with whom the photo was found, remembers her as a kind and confident woman.
She was what could be described as free-spirited and not very attached to the conventions of her time
remembers Stewart Tait, son of Annabella and grandfather of Christina.
He says one day his mother and a friend drove from Winnipeg to northern Ontario to visit their husbands who were working there.
It’s the kind of thing that no one did in those days, explains Stewart Tait, who keeps photos of his mother’s trip.
Open in full screen mode
Stewart Tait is the son of Annabella McKay and the grandfather of Christina Lennox.
Photo : - / Jackie McKay
During his childhood, he contracted polio and found himself paralyzed for several months. He remembers his mother patiently caring for him during his illness.
It’s the kind of memory that never leaves you
expresses the one who is now 85 years old.
According to him, the photo reproduced by his granddaughter was probably taken in 1936 or 1937, because in the same packet of photos we can see a license plate on which it is indicated 1936. His mother would therefore have been in the late twenties.
When he looks at the result of Christina’s work, he believes that his mother’s smile corresponds to the memories he has of her.
I have only fond memories of my mother, and it’s wonderful all the work and dedication that went into this work.
With reporting from CBC’s Jackie McKay Indigenous
