This Thursday evening is the come and go reception for the Cleansing Smoke exhibit with the talented artist Jessie Fosty.
Jessie Fosty is an interdisciplinary visual artist from Brandon, MB. With a background of Dakota Ojibway and Caucasian, she identifies as being a mixed person.
“In this show I was just starting to open my eyes up to my Aboriginal culture, and the issues we face,” stated Fosty in a statement for Arts Mosaic, “I am currently on my own healing journey. I think you can see that in my work, especially when you look at my exploration into what the seven sacred Aboriginal teaching mean to me.”
Fosty is currently enrolled in a BFA with Honours at Brandon University. Her major is drawing, but she engages with different mediums in her work including: painting, beading, ceramics, mixed media and performance art.
“In the Fancy Shawl series I was exploring the beauty and movement of the steps, and regalia one must employ when Pow Wow dancing. I have always found Pow Wow to be a cleansing act for myself whenever I attended one. The sound of the drum and watching the dancers cleanses my soul similar to how smudging has cleansing smoke properties.”
Fosty’s artwork themes include: the impact of residential schools, IRS intergenerational effects, the plight of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada, and Aboriginal stereotypes/cultural pride.
The work of Jessie Fosty will be on display at the Arts Mosaic from January 10-31.
