Karalyn’s Process
Beaded Thunderbird Panel
Emanating with Power, is my Uncover//Recover project, it encapsulates the teachings I’ve learned through my studies in the Indigenous Visual Culture program, of symbolic representations of The Thunderbird in objects; such as bags and pouches, created by Great Lake artists during the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century.
Our first visit to the ROM is when I chose the object I wanted to creativity respond to. I came across a panel, made with wrapped porcupine quill beads, woven with strands made from vegetable and plant fibre. It was designed in a simplified geometric pattern with the motif of the Thunderbird, surrounded by zig-zags representing lightning. The Thunderbird is a great and powerful Manitou; a great spirit, and is embodied in Anishinaabeg culture and belief systems. When we started this project, what first came to my mind was thinking how the objects would have looked like, if the traditions weren’t interrupted and were instead continued up to today. My first instinct was to re-create the object in
drawings and watercolour studies. We then had a workshop with Anishinaabe (Odawa) artist Barry Ace, who instructed us to re-create our objects with contemporary materials from his own creative practice.
From this starting point I worked with our project leader, Bonnie Devine, to source out materials which were chosen to communicate concepts of electric conductivity and the concept of animate objects emanating with power, both spiritually and physically. The materials we chose were a computer copper prototype board and thin coated wire. I manipulated the wire, creating my own beads and then inserted and attached these beads into the board. Using the original objects’s design, I replicated it in my re-creation piece. For this project, I wanted to give respect to this object and its unknown maker, to put in the work to show my love and respect to the kind of dedication that is needed to acquire the patience and endurance in creating such an intricate object. I also wished to appease the great Thunderbird, and give thanks and respect to the Great Manitou.
Karalyn’s Project: Project Thunderbird
A symbol of power. This piece is a record of Karalyn’s material investigation into how the original object was made. To better understand its materials, dyes, beading and weaving techniques she remade the panel in real time using contemporary materials – coloured plastic-coated electrical wires woven into a copper circuit board.
The circuit board and wire are made of copper.
They are transmitters of electrical energy, which signal the handing down of Thunderbird narratives through generations. The circuit board references communication, transmission, and the propagation of thunderbird energy. The image and colour of both the original panel and the contemporary model provide a pixelated surface texture that suggests movement, mapping, and a tradition of visual story telling.