Retracing Territories

Heather Shillinglaw’s work, Amiskwaci Sâkahikan [Beaver Hills Lake] was created in dialogue with scientists to trace the ancient outline of lakes in the artist’s ancestral territory, the size of which has been reduced due to oil sand extraction. With thread and ribbon Shillinglaw makes visible the lost creeks and rivers of this watershed that were formerly territories for nesting geese and ducks. The lines trace the paths her elders used when gathering eggs. Using caribou hide, stitching, and upcycled textiles Shillinglaw creates a territory formed of scientific and ancestral knowledge.

Mylène Michaud positions her perspective high above geographical landscapes through the use of satellite images. She is interested in artisanal techniques, their mechanization and their transposition into today's technological universe. Exploring the transfer of data from virtual to material form, Michaud combines computer image processing, jacquard knitting and quilting techniques to create large knitted fabrics based on satellite images of the territory captured on the Web. Her research brings into play the relationship between pixel and image, yarn and fabric, unity and ensemble. Through her work, a language is developed in which tradition and modernity meet.

Martine Bertrand creates mixed media work using embroidery, and collage—these pieces take the form of aerial views, becoming imaginary cartographies and territories. Drawing from urban landscapes, architecture, atmospheres, and encounters, she constructs mental and sensory territories where reality is reshaped through intuition and memory. Thread becomes a line of thought, an intimate path, a trace of a lived and dreamed experience.