Community/Nation/Tribe: Anishinaabe, a member of Obishkkokaang/Lac Seul First Nations
Materials/Processes: Photography; Animation; Digital image-making
Themes: Cultural crisis/conflict; Sovereignty; Indigenous ways of knowing; Indigeneity in global context
Online Resources:
Statement in Artist’s Words:
My most recent work has been centered on cultural crisis/conflict and its political and cultural manifestations, located and contextualized around issues of Indigeneity from a global perspective. More broadly it seeks to addresses a continuing development and creation of a deeper personal cosmology originating in the ideas of reclamation and sovereignty, the impacts and effects of relationships and familial/communal ties, non-conventional ways of knowing (i.e. dreaming, intuition, blood memory, collective subconscious), underlying tensions and complexity inherent in searching for truth and how these impacts radiate out into wider communities. Building on my world-views and borrowing strongly from my past (non-artistic) works, active seeking and fostering of collaborative artistic projects continues to be a deeply meaningful and fruitful avenue of investigation and creation.
Bio
Scott Benesiinaabandan is Anishinaabe, a member of Obishkkokaang/Lac Seul First Nations.
Scott is an intermedia artist that currently works in experimental image making and sonic materials.Scott is currently resident in Montreal, where he has completed a MFA in photography..Scott’s current research interests are intersections of artificial-intelligence and Anishinaabemowin,Scott has completed international residencies at Parramatta Artist Studios in Australia, Context Gallery in Derry, North of Ireland, and University Lethbridge/Royal Institute of Technology iAIR residency, along with international collaborative projects in both the U.K and Ireland. Scott has completed residencies with Initiative for Indigenous Futures and AbTec in Montreal. -95 words>
Benesiinaabandan has been awarded grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, Winnipeg Arts Council and Conseil des arts des lettre du Quebec. His work can be found in a number of private, provincial and national collections.
Benesiinaabandan has taken part in several notable exhibitions across Canada and internationally, Harbourfront’s Flatter the Land/Bigger the Ruckus, ,Subconscious City at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, GHOSTDANCE at Ryerson Image Centre and solo exhibitions; unSacred, at Gallery 1C03 and in Sydney,Australia, mii omaa ayaad/Oshiki Inendemowin , Melbourne with Blood Memories, little resistances at Platform Gallery, Insurgence/Resurgence (2017) and recently completed a public commission for CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto.
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