Claus exhibit comes to a close
The exhibit includes two new works, titled “watersong [Kaniatarowanen – othorè:ke nonkwá:ti]” and “dish”. Courtesy Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallert, credit Jean-Michael Seminaro
Discs printed with images of the St. Lawrence River taken from Kahnawake’s shoreline are suspended from reflective white thread hanging from the ceiling of the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery at Concordia University in downtown Montreal.
At first glance, the curtain-like arrangement of the discs seems randomized, a sprinkling of shapes across the room. But what guests at the gallery might not immediately realize is that the position of each disc is highly intentional, a mark to visually reproduce the soundwaves of a song composed by community member Ionhiaroròks McComber.
“I hang them so they’re following the shoreline, they kind of curve in the space,” said Claus, who is from Tyendinaga.
The piece is titled watersong [Kaniatarowanen – othorè:ke nonkwá:ti, and is one of Claus’s newer works created for the solo exhibit, which has been showing at the gallery since November. The exhibition closes tomorrow, (Friday, February 6).
“It’s been fantastic. Always when you have a solo show it’s an opportunity to get a better sense of the artist’s ideas, because there’s more than just one piece,” said Claus, who has 10 works on display at the show.
The exhibit is curated by Nicole Burisch, who included some of Claus’s earlier works alongside her newer pieces.
“It gives a bit of a sense of how my ideas have been developing within my practice throughout the years,” Claus said.
A second new work, dish, is featured in the show, a suspended installation in a similar style, this time all the discs coming together to invoke the image of a large bowl, a reference to the concept of the One Dish One Spoon, where there’s a commitment to share resources in a way that secures abundance for all.
(Tiohtià:ke) curated by Nicole Burisch at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Concordia University. Courtesy Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallert, credit Jean-Michael Seminaro
“It’s got imagery of the medicines on the mountain, it’s got roots and berries, cedar, sumac, all of the different things that combine to make this form of a bowl,” said Claus.
Drawing together all of the installations is the glinting thread from which the discs are strung. Unlike other similar installations which are often hung from clear thread to give the illusion of being suspended from nothing, Claus intentionally draws attention to the mechanism that holds her art up, using a fine reflective sewing thread.
“It reflects the light so that they’re visible, because I don’t want these things to be suspended as if they’re floating in the air, I want to show the connection from where the threads go from the ground all the way up to the ceiling, that’s the connection and the relationship between the Earth and sky,” Claus said.
The thread has been a significant image throughout Claus’s work, also recalling images of the thread in a wampum belt when cut off the loom.
“I think about the wampum belts with the ends of the thread hanging long, it shows that the wampum belt is part of an agreement or a covenant that has been made and continues on, that’s active and living,” Claus said.
“They don’t cut off or tidy up the ends, and I think of these threads in the same way, indicating that relationship.”
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The Leonard & Bina Ellen gallery is open from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. today, February 6, and tomorrow, February 7, the last two days before tsi iotnekahtentiónhatie (Tiohtià:ke) comes to a close.
