Censored!!!
Voices in the Wind
Voices in the Wind
A collection of Mask paintings of stories
by Indigenous People of the World.
Sadly, as I am not Indian, Native, First Nation or
Indigenous, under the CULTURAL ART APPROPRIATION ACT, I am not
allowed to paint any images of any Indigenous nature.
I had to cancel my scheduled October exhibition at
Artpoint Gallery. The art show VOICES IN THE WIND, a collection of Mask
paintings had already been cancelled twice in the name of CULTURAL ART APPROPRIATION,
first at The Bissett Gallery at Mount Royal University and secondly at a
Technology Centre. Both times by person(s) Anonymous who did not have the
decency to speak with me, instead worked through administrators, deans and
landlords. Since Artpoint Gallery is a
publicly funded gallery, I did not want to jeopardise their funding nor their
leasing agreement with the City of Calgary.
The exhibition started out as a celebration of legends
and folklore of Eastern European, African and North American First Nation
cultures. I have always been interested and conducted research into mythology
and legends and I am concerned to keep them alive in our fast pacing technology
world. Thus the creation of the series of Masks, who are the transmitters of
the voice to narrate their individual legends.
Now the voices are silent, the faces forgotten and the
stories untold.
By overpainting the faces of some of the masks white
and stamping them: “Censored” I am also declaring my revulsion of censorship
and would like to defend my right as an artist to exercise artistic expression,
as well as my right to create artwork achieved through the inspiration by
reading stories of publicly accessible books.
Elizabeth Laishley