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Cast off 'blanket of shame and lies,' artist urges

Third part of A Visual Reconciliation series, on humility, will be at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie on March 18

The room was quiet as artist Julie Tian began speaking, the audience respectful and attuned to her every word.

Tian was the first artist to talk about her work at the second gathering of A Visual Reconciliation, a series of events sponsored by the Orillia and District Arts Council (ODAC), presenting artists of different cultures and their look at the tenets of the Seven Grandfather teachings.

The project was conceived by lead artist Paul Shilling, who goes by his traditional name, Dazaunggee.

There will be seven events in total, with each focusing on the Indigenous Seven Grandfather teachings: bravery, honesty, humility, love, respect, truth, and wisdom. Each of the four artists involved in the project will do a piece in their medium reflecting their thinking on each of the teachings.

The artists involved are Tian, Ted Fullerton, Xavier Fernandes, and Dazaunggee.

The first gathering, focusing on the teaching of bravery, took place at Creative Nomad Studios in November 2022.

This second gathering, held Wednesday night at Georgian College’s Orillia campus, focused on the teaching of honesty.

Tian, a young, queer, Chinese-Canadian artist who lives in Toronto, was open about her struggles with honesty and her work, a painting done in acrylic.

She explained she was born in China and spent the first eight years of her life there.

“Honesty is very hard for me,” she said. “It is something I have to do intentionally. In our culture, telling little white lies is encouraged. It’s the norm. That’s what I grew up in. You tell these lies so others won’t worry, not to put a burden on other people.”

Tian explained, to audience laughter, she finds herself now “just lying a lot.”

“This is a disservice not just to the person I am lying to, but to myself,” she added.

She said this dichotomy means she finds herself inhabiting different realities, depending on what lies she has told to whom. Her painting of herself as a little girl at her grandparents’ community in the north of China was based on different photos, but she also changed elements of each photo, reflecting that reality in her life.

Fullerton is a former Georgian College professor and a full-time artist of white Canadian descent. His large painting featuring Pinocchio with two hands touching above him was full of meaning and symbolism, which are hallmarks of Fullerton’s work.

Fullerton, who resides in the Tottenham area, explained the importance of honesty was taught to him when he was growing up. However, he says that was and is hard for him to reconcile with the ubiquitous dishonesty he has seen and sees now all over the world.

He also mentioned the little white lie, and he painted those words on the white background of his piece.

“Disney’s Pinocchio is an iconic North American image and example, where a deceitful action results in how we are seen,” said Fullerton. “Yet, it is forgiven by being charming, engaging or appealing.”

Fernandes, who was born in Pakistan but grew up in Orillia, has worked in many media throughout his 30-year career as an artist. Currently, he is mainly working in wood, and he chose to illustrate his musings on honesty through a photo of different kinds of wood, carefully curated and displayed.

“Honesty and truth: two words that are very similar. When you see my work, you see different pieces of wood, but do you see me in there? There is one piece of ebony that is hidden by many of the others. They are not aware of what they are doing,” he told the audience.

“The concept of this piece is me and the people around me. Sometimes, in a full room, you can be standing alone. The truth is that there are many people in your life, but, honestly, how many of them care and are there for you?”

Fernandes pointed out people can say they don’t like someone because of the colour of their skin, but that is their own learned belief.

“When we are born, do we know what hate is? All of us are beautiful and unique people. Honesty is me being true to myself and not letting others stop me from shining bright,” he concluded.

Dazaunggee is the lead artist and elder of the group. He lives in Ramara, is the youngest brother of renowned Canadian Indigenous artist Arthur Shilling, and a well-established artist in his own right. His painting on honesty featured children and a big black cross in the foreground.

He explained he spent his first seven years in an abusive situation, going through the system.

“We are fooled into carrying dogma, lies. When we express ourselves, we get blasted. When we speak from honesty, we must be gentle. Sometimes honesty has nothing to do with truth,” he mused.

“Showing your true self — we have to go there. It takes a lot of courage; education can mask that. Inside there is a beautiful spirit and being. We all have to uncover ourselves. We are all beautiful — all of us — but we are covered with a blanket of shame and lies. We need to throw off that blanket and allow ourselves to be seen, and be honest.”

After each artist spoke, the 40 audience members were invited to ask questions. The questions were probing and insightful, ranging from musings on the word honesty to queries about inspiration and how participating in the project had affected each artist.

After this, audience members were invited to take a closer look at the art, talk to the artists, and enjoy refreshments supplied by the college.

ODAC secretary Christine Hager was pleased with the event.

“This project came about because we, as a board, felt it was really important to contribute something to reconciliation in a meaningful way, that made sense, as opposed to having just a bunch of words,” Hager said.

“We thought that a visual representation, for artists, would be the best possible portrayal of how everybody feels, in their different cultures.”

ODAC is grateful for a grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts to fund this project, and to the venue partners — Creative Nomad Studios, Georgian College and the MacLaren Art Centre — she said.

The third part of this series, on humility, will be at the MacLaren Art Centre in Barrie on March 18.