Funded by the Ontario Art Council’s Aboriginal Arts Projects, 2004

AT THE APEX OF CHANGE

Having lived in an isolated community of 350 people for most of his life, over the past four years Moses became involved outside his community on other reserves and urban centres across Ontario, due to various art related initiatives. His move to the urban center of Thunder Bay in 2004 was in part to allow him to complete this series of six paintings which explore the relationship between a natural land based way of seeing informed by the dependency of the urban environment from the perspective of past, present and future. It marks a time of great emotional and spiritual turmoil for Moses, a period during which he grew both personally and professionally on many levels. A period of reflection, expression and vision, the story depicted in these paintings is that of many Aboriginal Peoples; a story of loss and rebirth, it is also his own.

** Flowing through all six paintings in this series is a river, which ends on the top of the drum in the final piece. The clarity of this river of life is symbolic of creation/birth, food and spiritual cleansing.

*** Also noteworthy is the traditional hand drum in the first painting in the series followed by a large powwow drum in the final piece. “A community without a drum is a community without a heartbeat”. It signifies and beckons the beat of life and circle of life.

****The final painting in the series will be donated to the Agency that acquires the first five, to be artistically enjoyed, inspirational and as a reminder to all People that we are all connected to each other and the natural world.