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Jennifer Williams
August 14 - September 7, 2010
More About the Artist:
Jennifer Williams
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For Immediate Release:
Native Waters: Honoring Indigenous Connection
The mouth of the Columbia River has long been considered an important element of the Pacific Northwest region. For generations the Chinook people inhabiting the banks of the lower Columbia have revered the river as "the giver of life”. Serving as a ribbon of continuation, the waters ceaselessly flow into the Pacific Ocean nurturing and sustaining all levels of life. The collaborative pairing of masters Jennifer Williams and Adam McIsaac creates a dramatic and heartfelt homage to the original people who populated these banks. The inspiration for Native Waters is twofold, flowing from the artistic legacy of the Chinookan people, and at the same time reflecting the contemporary voice of the river. The artists will be exhibiting their work at RiverSea Gallery August 14th – September 7th, in an exhibition titled Native Waters. An artist’s reception will be held Saturday, August 14th 5 – 8pm. All are invited to come and enjoy an evening out, meet the artists and help to celebrate a powerful homage to the region’s natural and cultural history.
Adam McIsaac, a Columbia River area carver, developed a lasting tie to the region as well as its early inhabitants during childhood. Influenced by his father, a
fisheries biologist, McIsaac spent countless hours walking along the banks of
local streams and rivers. By his father’s side he absorbed the beauty and how
fundamentally intertwined the waters are with the indigenous people, later leading him to an immersion in the art and culture of the Chinook people. “The confluence of these two forces forges my dedication to preserve their artwork and life ways. I am compelled within my art to connecting both long time residents and one-time visitors to this feeling of place and its important history.”
Utilizing native woods and traditional tools, McIsaac has created a powerful series of cedar carvings that represent the stylistic conventions used by the indigenous Chinook people, telling a story of the days when they inhabited the river shores. Large canoes once lined the beaches of what we now know as Oregon and Washington, along with giant house posts and welcome figures that stood to greet newcomers. Waterfowl and salmon migrated annually to these waters, providing abundant food and allowing the Chinook people to create an integrated society with a rich mythology. Chinookan art stands as a testament of a great culture that was once recognized by all who visited this vast river. “My art represents where their art may have gone if times had been kinder to the people”, states McIsaac. “I am happy to have this art at RiverSea Gallery on the Columbia River, at its home.”
Jennifer Williams, an environmental Northwest landscape painter, shares McIsaac’s passion for the culture. She has created a profound body of work that depicts the physical beauty of place while also conveying the sense of mysticism that is inherent to the original people of the area. The Chinook referred to salmon and the connection to the Columbia river as the giver of life, which Williams metaphorically expresses through her use of the visual language. The Chinook word for the Columbia, “Wimahl”, literally translates to “Big River”.
Her mixed media paintings emerge through a process of layering and revealing. Utilizing acrylic paint over a collaged base built up of carefully selected resources to illustrate a timeline of landscape, Williams incorporates a myriad of materials that all help to convey a connection from past to present to future.
At close examination the viewer will find in each composition reclaimed maps, text from books and articles that contain hints of history and policy, and cedar bark embodying the physicality of the land. “We all have a native stream that we have grown up by”, states Williams, “for those of us who have adopted these waterways as ours, they come with the responsibility of taking care of them.
The Chinookan culture has much to teach us. They lived as one with their environment, respecting all creatures. They lived off the land but wasted nothing.”
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