Cannupa Hanska Luger and Meryl McMaster explore in their art a heritage rooted in kinship, land, and history. At the same time, their work addresses the future. Luger’s video works and McMaster’s photographs were part of the exhibition Contemporary Indigenous Art of North America, previously on display at the Nelimarkka Museum.

Cannupa Hanska Luger offers a distinctive interpretation of ancient myths that speak of the connection between humans and the land. In his works, the artist combines elements of installation and performance art with moving images. The video work Future Ancestral Technologies, featured in the exhibition, is a form of “Indigenous sci-fi”: what tools and weapons can humans use to defend and protect life when it is under threat?

Meryl McMaster explores her own ancestry, as well as her relationship with the land and history, through her art. Her works often bring together multiple eras and cultures. In her photographs, the artist frequently appears herself, taking on the roles of historical figures, both imagined and based on real people.

📷 Cannupa Hanska Luger, Future Ancestral Technologies: New Myth, 2021. Multichannel moving image work. Courtesy of the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York.

© Gabriel Fermin.