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Great White North Exhibition: Artists muse on Canada’s national identity

October 3, 2016

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During a trip to Nunavut this winter, I saw some of the oldest and most remote Hudson’s Bay Co., outposts, and was reminded of how the commodification of Canada’s natural resources has always been central to the process of colonization. Resource extraction has helped shape the 
social, environmental, and political landscape, and is 
therefore a driving force in what we call our culture. For this neckpiece I’ve chosen to draw upon some of 
the archetypal elements of the British colonial legacy in 
both material and imagery in response to this year’s theme 
of ‘In Flux.’ I’ve beaded two scenes onto a Hudson’s Bay blanket that hang on a piece of fabricated brass, strung with flat cotton rope and an adjustable fastener. The first scene is of a beaver (whose pelts were used as currency by early traders) bare trees (representing the toll on nature this process came to represent), and four horizontal stripes that were woven into Hudson’s Bay blankets to indicate size and thickness and, as a result, the possible social status of its owner. On the reverse, there is a simple scene of an untouched, light blue pond and healthy trees. The uncomplicated nature of this portrait is meant to evoke an untouched landscape void of human complication and threat. ~ Natalie Vanderzand

This year, the exhibition will be making stops at Montreal’s Musee des Maitres Artisans du Quebec 
(on now until Oct. 16) and Toronto’s 18Karat Studio and Gallery (Nov. 1 to Dec. 17). The latter also organizes the competition.

The response to the call for entry saw artists from across Canada submit 22 designs for consideration by a blind jury. All based in Toronto, the judging panel comprised writer Laura Beeston, jewellery designer Shelly Purdy, and artist Richard Ahnert.

“Jewellery is an expression of an artist’s creativity, but unlike other art forms, it possesses an unparalleled intimacy that connects the maker to the wearer,” said Vanessa Laurin, the exhibition’s curator. “It is created by one’s hands to be worn on another’s skin. It is passed down to us by our ancestors and handed 
down to our loved ones as tokens and mementos—memories of who we were. Jewellery tells the story 
of who we are.”

As a full-time teacher of jewellery arts, Audette says she’s never participated in a design competition before. Still, she understands their importance in providing artists with an outlet for designing a piece outside their signature style.

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