Medicine Hat Media

Portraits of Loss by Safira Lachapelle

“To brush history against the grain and write a different account, one that deepens our understanding… one that seeks to reveal the interstices of resistance and pain.”
– Walter Benjamin, Thesis on the Philosophy of History

Portraits of Loss by Safira Lachapelle

Portraits of Loss by Safira Lachapelle

Loss as an emotion that shapes history
What role does cultural identity play in the development of individuals and societies? I continually seek perspective to this question through the processes of cultural immersion and documentation. Reoccurring themes within my work reveal ideas of environmental sustainability, obsolescence, impermanence, humanity’s relationship to earth, traditional First Nation’s worldview, kinship, dreams, visions, the soul, and immortality.

The current ongoing focus of my work is an immersion in the personal, cultural, and historical perspectives that surround loss, specifically from suicide and accident. Suicide has been called Canada’s silent epidemic, and along with accident is the leading cause of death in young men, particularly in First Nation’s communities. These forms of loss are unique in that they offer survivors an unexpected life. My interest and experience with unexpected loss and contemporary First Nations culture presents an opportunity to open this dialogue.

Listening as a form of art
The intent of this installation is to continue exploring techniques that can be used to most effectively tell story. Story has the potential to act as impetus for personal and societal growth; this is a fundamental understanding in First Nation’s oral history teaching methodologies. I am interested in coalescing personal oral history collection with the creation of installation art. The documentation of personal stories will act as a primer for the creation of work and offer an open-ended interpretation to a melding of personal, cultural, and historical perspectives. My aim is that these interpretations will evoke memory and help guide the viewer to a greater truth.

I am interested in how media such as drawing, installation, print making, text, sound, and video interact and layer meaning for audience. Is a story interpreted physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually by the viewer? Are cognitive and perceptive processes enhanced when diverse mediums work together? How do auditory, visual, and tactile stimuli affect that response?

Biography:
Safira Lachapelle is born and raised in Medicine Hat. She has just returned to Medicine Hat to finish the last year of her arts degree. This show was made possible through funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board and Battlefords and District Community Foundation Inc.

Show Info:
January 7 – 11 @ 11am – 8pm
Reception: January 11 @ 7pm
Medicine Hat College Room N159

User Comments

Leave a Reply


Events

Community