Adrian Stimson
Stimson challenges the colonial project through painting, digital media, installations and performance
By Biennale of Sydney
22nd Biennale of Sydney: NIRIN
Adrian Stimson at Campbelltown Arts Centre | 22nd Biennale of Sydney | NIRIN (2020)Biennale of Sydney
Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape (2020) by Adrian StimsonBiennale of Sydney
About the artist
Adrian Stimson
Born 1964 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Lives and works in Alberta, Canada
Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation, located on Treaty 7 Territory in southern Alberta, Canada
Adrian Stimson is an interdisciplinary artist who survived the residential school system in Canada. He challenges the colonial project through painting, digital media, installations and performance. He uses the colonial archive, memory, Indigenous knowledge and humour in confronting genocide.
His art speaks to resilience and resistance; ways to thrive in an often-hostile world.
Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape Installation ImageBiennale of Sydney
For the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, Stimson presents a number of photographic works as wallpapers, a sculptural piece titled Buffalo Boy's Dreamscape, and video work Buffalo Boy Dreams in 4 Directions .
Buffalo Boy on the Playa I; Shaman Exterminator on the Playa; Shaman Exterminator; and Buffalo BoyBiennale of Sydney
Buffalo Boy / Shaman Exterminator
Taken at the Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, USA, the Buffalo Boy / Shaman Exterminator photographs are early depictions of ‘Buffalo Boy’ and the ‘Shaman Exterminator’, performance art personas developed during Stimson’s studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
Buffalo Boy is a character parody of Buffalo Bill and his Wild West shows; he is an identity construction of the ‘Indian’, cowboy, shaman and Two Spirit being.
The Shaman Exterminator is kind of like the Terminator, who tackles issues around new age spirituality, shamanism and pan-Indian identity.
These personas have been a part of a number of performances and exhibitions across Canada, USA and Europe.
"The colonial world will always see me as the other, the outsider, and the problem needing to be dealt with. However, I am Niitsitapi, a Blackfoot person living in this world today and my centre transcends the colonial project."
- Adrian Stimson
Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape Installation ImageBiennale of Sydney
Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape
Buffalo Boy's Dreamscape is a sculptural, installation work that mirrors Stimson's video Buffalo Boy Dreams in 4 Directions. Surrounded by the railroad, Buffalo Boy, Shaman Exterminator, Naked Napi, dingoes and the bison create moments frozen in time.
In these little vignettes, Buffalo Boy engages in acts of sleeping, crawling, standing and gun-slinging, while the Shaman Exterminator looks on and interacts with the dingoes.
Naked Napi attacks and sprays the train with his big penis, hoping to slow down or stop the spread of colonialism. The bison surrounded by the railroad roam the enclosed space, weary of the colonial project, speaking to loss and resilience.
Tap to explore
Navigate through the Campbelltown Arts Centre and explore Stimson's photographic works and 3D models in 360.
Buffalo Boy’s Dreamscape, 2020, 159 3D printed figures, model train set
Buffalo Boy, 2004, wallpaper
Buffalo Boy Getting it from 4 Directions, 2004, wallpaper
Buffalo Boy - Indy Lake I, 2004, wallpaper
Buffalo Boy - Indy Lake II, 2004, wallpaper
Buffalo Boy on the Playa I, 2004 , wallpaper
Shaman Exterminator, 2004, wallpaper
Shaman Exterminator on the Playa, 2004, wallpaper
Shaman Exterminator Sunrise, 2004, wallpaper
Courtesy the artist and Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, CA
