Saskanôtin by Delreé Dumont
A new temporary art installation has popped up on 6th Street and 8th Avenue SE near the entrance to the East Village Nordic Loop. Titled Saskanôtin, the Cree word for chinook wind, the installation was designed by Delreé Dumont, a visual artist from the Onion Lake Cree Nation (Wîhcêkaskosîwi-sâkahikanihk) in Saskatchewan. Pronounced Saaa-ska-no-tin, Dumont has incorporated the chinook winds that Calgary is known for into the mountainscape design.
Photo courtesy of Devon Rogers
“In our culture we believe everything is connected and my paintings reflect our connection to Mother Earth (Okâwîmâwaskiy) and the creatures that inhabit it,” says Dumont.
This piece is a departure from Dumont’s typical work, both in medium and in style. The majority of Dumont’s works are wildlife paintings featuring mostly animals as subjects that are transformed through pointillism – a technique that uses dots as layers to alter the original work. She describes her work as “blending the elements and teachings from my experience as an Indigenous woman.”
This installation, in contrast, showcases a mountain and chinook wind scene that is laser cut into wood and affixed to a wooden pedestal and backdrop that have been painted in bright colours creating a juxtaposition to the winter landscape. Dumont has explored how light and shadows interplay through this outdoor installation.
The artwork quietly invites the viewer to approach and not only embrace the elements of winter but find beauty in our connection to it.
The piece was commissioned by local production house PARK in collaboration with East Village and is featured in Chinook Blast’s HUB programming.
Saskanôtin will be on display until February 27th and will feature two unique additions to the piece throughout the month. From February 4th to 6th take in a balloon installation titled Ava-Arch by Maria Dina Galura followed by a flower installation, Zephyr, by Fox Glove Studio from February 18th to 21st.
Learn more about Dumont.
Website https://delreedumont.com/
Instagram @delree_dumont // Facebook Delree’s Native Art Gallery