Where the Waters Come Together
A group exhibition exploring Indigenous perspectives of our relationships with rivers and oceans
Native Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Photo by Mario Gallucci
About the exhibition
The exhibit features Native artists responding to fundamental questions around cultural buoyancy, biodiversity protection, food sources and material necessities, and the realities of the colonial reshaping of traditional access to waterways and shorelines.
Portrait of Brenda Mallory in front of her piece Nexus: Exchange and Share (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation)
Brenda is a contemporary visual artist from Portland, Oregon. She is known for reusing junk and found objects in her work. This "netting" reuses post-industrial cutout fabrics, she then dipped in wax.
“Nexus,” ties the water themes in the exhibit together
The patterns and repetition of her art create calm and order from the discarded, working with mostly salvaged materials. She often joins multiple forms with crude hardware to suggest the evidence of struggle while mending a disruption.
Nexus (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
This piece ties the whole of the water themes in the exhibit together. This is the first time Brenda has worked at this large of scale.
Hear from the artist
NACF Artist Fellow Brenda Mallory (Cherokee Nation) shares their thoughts about native art, artists, and their work in the exhibit.
Where the Waters Come Together Exhibit (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Drew Michael (Yupik/Inupiaz/Polish)
"Protection" Mask. Drew uses many contemporary materials not found in historic masks.
"The Raven" by Drew Michael (Yupik/Inupiaq/Polish)
Masks like these are used in ceremonial and social storytelling. They are meant to be worn. In fact, the Raven mask has a strap on the back.
Wooden carving by Sean Gallagher (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
“In Our Nature”
The figure is 5ft 11in and carved from a single piece of cedar by Drew Michael (Yupik/Inupiaq/Polish).
Visitors viewing "In Our Nature" by Sean Gallagher (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
The black and white imagery depicts the BLM protests in Portland, organized labor, and equitable transit in waterways
"In Our Nature" carving among other exhibit items (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Lehuauakea (Native Hawaiian)
Artist Lehuauakea creates patterns on kapa, a traditional cloth used by Native Hawaiians for clothing, blankets, banners and more. The black pigment was collected from the charcoal of the 2020 Riverside fire in Clackamas County, Oregon.
Canoe, Nexus net and Raven Mask (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Sean Gallagher and Shirod Younker
Suspended in the air - UMIAK (the canoe hanging from the ceiling). This piece is an artist collaboration between Sean Gallagher (Inupiaq) and Shirod Younker (Enrolled with Coquille Indian Tribe).
Umiaks by Sean Gallagher & Shirod Younker
The stretched “skin” of the umiak was traditionally made from walrus hides, sewn together with sinew, and covered with seal oil. They are light and can be carried over a distance with little exertion.
Canoe by Tony and Mechelle Johnson (Chinook Indian Nation)
The main body is carved by hand from one solid piece of old growth Western Cedar, an 1180-year-old tree. This is a working canoe that is actively used by the Johnson family. It has traveled across thousands of miles of water in over 20 years.
Acrylic paint, graphite, xerox transfers, on panel boards by Sara Siestreem (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Sara Siestreem (Hannis Coos)
“They Would Rather Be a Cloud, Fastened to a Rock”. This artwork by Sara Siestreem (Hannis Coos) references traditional basketmaking, but true of most of Sara's work, descriptions of the content are left intentionally ambiguous for the observer to find their own meaning.
Sara says, “The work speaks for itself." It consists of 55 separate panels, each with its own cleat for hanging.
A 3D printed hat by Sara Siestreem (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Sara Siestreem (Hannis Coos)
3D Printed Basket by Sara Siestreem (Hannis Coos). The 3D printing is an exploration of the possible preservation of Native artifacts and their repatriation from museums and private collections
Four Baskets by Sara Siestreem (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Four baskets by Sara Siestreem (Hannis Coos)
Two of the baskets are traditionally handwoven from natural fibers, and two are made with 3D printing through collaboration between the artist and Kazi Rafizulla of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at The University of Oregon
The woven basket is intended for use in clamming, a common food source for coastal people
Where the Waters Come Together Exhibit (2022-04-20) by Mario GallucciNative Arts and Cultures Foundation - Center for Native Arts and Cultures
Cedar carvings by Greg Archuleta (Grand Ronde)
“Sun’s Daughter Returns to the Sky World” (left) is based on a Clackamas Chinook ikanum (ancient story). “Tumwater” (right) is a tribute to Willamette Falls located in Oregon City, Oregon.
