Digital Guide: Mary Anne Barkhouse: Ndishnikaaz | Nugwa’am | My name is

Bison/Gate (BG–1) 

2021, Poly/cotton, canvas, steel hanging rod

One of the inspirations for this piece was some of the things that noted archeologist, Dr. Ernie Walker, had said … it was something along the lines of the land around Wanuskewin representing a portal in time, and the chance to look into the past and offer perspective on the present and possible futures.  

In Bison/Gate, I extended those thoughts about the territory at Wanuskewin, SK to include the experience of other civilizations with bison over millennia. Having been fortunate enough to visit one of the few caves that has ancient cave paintings still open to the public in Niaux, France, I have observed the many depictions of beautifully rendered bison, deep inside the mountain.  

Also included in this tapestry are several other species that are part of the ecosphere of bison, flora and fauna, that will be affected and benefit from the renewed presence of bison in the area. 

Acta Sanctorum (the deeds of the saints)

2021, Poly/cotton, canvas, steel hanging rod

Embassy

2023, Poly/cotton, canvas, steel hanging rod. Photo Credit: Frank Piccolo 

Succession II

2024, Granite textured stoneware, tree section from Barkhouse family farm in Hants County, Nova Scotia, cast bronze maple sapling, steel, moss, resin and feathers. Photo Credit: Frank Piccolo 

This piece, titled Succession II, is a cast stoneware Pioneer chainsaw, and is from the Idylls of the Boreal Wild series. The chainsaw is able to function as a tureen with the body of the chainsaw being the part that could hold soup or stew, and the chainbar can detach and be used as a place to serve your baguette (that would naturally go with your soup). Of course every household should have one …. 

The cross-section of tree that rests upon is a piece of a tree that came from the Barkhouse family homestead in Hants County, Nova Scotia, and was a significant landmark on the 300 acre farm. When it came down a few years ago some of my uncles got together and cut cross-sections for anyone in the family that wished some.  

Both my Nova Scotia family, as well as my BC, family have some connection to the timber industry, as my BC grandfather had worked as a logger as well as a fisherman back in the day, and my Nova Scotia grandfather had a small mill on his farm property which helped support the family, and employed a few local people as well.  

The legs of the “table” are maple saplings that have been cast in bronze, and overall the piece is meant to reflect on the cycles of nature as well as industry. If you look closely you can see that I have fabricated new teeth for the chainbar, replacing the usual cutting components with symbols of Western European monarchies such as the fleur-de-lis and crowns. Perhaps too obvious, but nonetheless acutely sharp cutting devices.  

And the little red bird is a vintage Christmas decoration that I pilfered from my mother’s stash when she wasn’t looking … acting upon my inner-magpie nature…. 

Abraham Brueghel, Still Life with Parrot and Monkey

1677, Oil on canvas. Bequest of Mrs. Gilbert Barrett, 1971.

We’ve chosen to place this still life painting by Abraham Brueghel across the gallery from Succession II, Mary Anne’s meditation on the cycles of industry and nature.  

Abraham Brueghel (1631-c. 1690) was a Flemish painter, and part of the influential Brueghel family of artists—his great grandfather, Pieter Brueghel (c. 1525-1569) was among the most successful Dutch and Flemish painters, and his 1630 painting The Wedding Feast is on permanent display at the DIA. This work, completed in 1677, is a complex composition, marrying still life and landscape painting in a single work. A floral bouquet, with ripe Southern Italian fruits below it, sits on a window ledge; a red curtain behind them is half-draped out an open window. Outside, a curved limestone staircase further hints at the extraordinary wealth on display.  

Still life paintings of this period are evidence of the increasingly global world of the late 17^th century. The parrot and monkey—both popular pets amongst the European elite—reflect the increase in European trade to the East Indies, South America, and West Africa. The red curtain is equally a sign of great wealth—cochineal red was an insect-derived pigment introduced from Mexico by Spanish explorers, and was responsible for the red clothing of Catholic clergymen, as well as the red coats of British soldiers. It might even be found in the red paint used by the artist in this work. 

This exhibition asks us to reflect on the stories about place that public collections can tell us. Paintings such as this one demonstrate how colonial trade transformed human lives and society, but also the lives of our non-human relations.   

—Emily McKibbon   

Currency

2025, Bronze, glass, neon, acrylic housing. Photo Credit: Frank Piccolo 

La famille

2011, Sterling silver, stainless steel, bronze, maple, velvet. Photo Credit: Frank Piccolo