Art exhibit highlights history

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A new art exhibit called Memory Keepers with a photographic suite by Mohawk artist Shelley Niro opened Nov. 7 at the University of Western Ontario's McIntosh Gallery.

Niro and London artist Bernice Vincent were present in the crowd of 150 for the opening of the two women's show.

The artists' statement says the show "examines the extent to which memorials achieve a collective healing and how they are viewed by white and First Nations cultures." Niro's work questions the American Statue of Liberty and speaks to the events of Sept. 11 last year, while Vincent's work honors the victims of the Montreal Massacre of Dec. 6 two decades ago.

Curator Catherine Elliot Shaw introduced the show by saying, "During these particular weeks of remembrance for our war dead, the victims of senseless violence, and even so many months later, the aftermath of Sept. 11, these exhibitions resonate with an important dialogue about collective memory. Shelley's work comes out of a very personal point of view which we see by reading the text on each of the pieces."

Niro's exhibit is a suite of seven photographs of the Statue of Liberty with frames that look like Iroquois beadwork. She reminds the viewer that the statue is situated on lands originally occupied by her ancestors. Niro's response is the text written on each photograph.

She said, "I think as artists, as writers, as anybody in creative positions, it's our duty to keep saying things and reminding ourselves of our history, because our history is not really in books."

At least it wasn't there in history books when I was growing up. So, I'm just trying to remind myself about certain events. And how they affect me and how I'm affected by them."

Niro's work is a journey through time that blends cultural themes and contemporary issues in North America. She points out the irony in America's claim to be the land of the free.

She says for Aboriginal people, the statue is a bitter reminder that our ancestors experienced neither liberty nor freedom.

Niro was the first Aboriginal person to graduate with a master of fine arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, in 1997. Her work has been purchased by the McIntosh Gallery. She grew up on the Six Nations reserve and currently lives in Brantford, Ontario.

For more information about the exhibit, see this Web site: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/McIntosh