Ts̱ēmā Igharas

Tahltan artist Ts̱ēmā Igharas calls into question mining practices and their colonial rationale through works that focus on the land and the body. Taking diverse material and digital forms, BLACK GOLD (2018– ongoing) addresses issues related to the Canadian oil sands. The project explores connections between mined substances and the body, envisaging their energies as being interrelated. Bitumen is the focus of a complex reflection on human nature and its contradictions: society is dependent on the overexploitation of resources that destroy ecosystems yet provide employment to numerous communities. The installation Hughadēsłēł — give it all away (2022), on the other hand, explores the resilience of Indigenous practices anchored in a territory that is often ravaged by massive extraction. On the lands of the Tahltan First Nation, Ts̱ēmā collected berries and cured salmon, presenting them in the installation in the form of appetizing preserves. In counterpoint to these food staples, a suspended textile work shows a mountainous relief, which, embellished with old copper pennies, seems to be flattened into a pool of mine tailings. Hughadēsłēł — give it all away proposes, to some extent, the opposite of the established capitalist system that guides resource extraction: a wealth based on relationships rather than exploitation. The Great Bear Money Rock project (2021 – 22), conducted in collaboration with Erin Siddall, explores the effects of the mining industry on Indigenous communities and their living environments. Based on research conducted in Délįnę, a small village located near an abandoned uranium mine in the Northwest Territories, the artists collected diverse natural elements, made audio recordings, and captured images. The project notably includes radioactive crystals, contained in appropriate casings to not only protect the public but also safeguard nature from a destructive human presence. Great Bear Money Rock calls into question the impacts of neoliberal economic enterprise through narratives that emerge from the core of the land. Translated from the French by Louise Ashcroft Author, curator, and contemporary-art consultant Maude Johnson holds a master’s degree in art history from Concordia University and a bachelor’s degree in art history from UQAM. In her projects, she delves into performative, critical, and curatorial practices by exploring the methodologies, processes, and languages within multidisciplinary approaches. Ts̱ēmā Igharas & Erin SiddallGreat Bear Money Rock, 2019-2021, installation view, 5 Lower Jarvis, Toronto, 2022.Photo: Toni Hafkenscheid & Rebecca Tisdelle-Macias, courtesy of the artists Ts̱ēmā IgharasMust Hold Water, 2021, from the series BLACK GOLD, 2018-ongoing, installation view, grunt gallery, Vancouver.Photo: Dennis Ha, courtesy of the artist Ts̱ēmā IgharasUntitled, 2019, from the series BLACK GOLD, 2018-ongoing, installation view, grunt gallery, Vancouver.Photo: Katy Whitt, courtesy of the artist Ts̱ēmā IgharasHughadēsłēł — give it all away, 2018-ongoing, installation view, SFU Gallery, Burnaby, 2022.Photo: Rachel Topham Photography, courtesy of the artist Ts̱ēmā Igharasthis mountain exhales sustenance; and shrouds my body to rise again, 2022, from the series Hughadēsłēł — give it all away, 2018-ongoing, installation view, SFU Gallery, Burnaby.Photo: Rachel Topham Photography, courtesy of the artist Maude Johnson, Ts̱ēmā Igharas

Ts̱ēmā Igharas

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