Like it or not, we are all influenced by our ancestors. Whether it’s DNA or traditions, nature or nurture, who we are is in some part dependent on who and where we come from. The relationship between artistry and ancestry is the theme of a new exhibit at The Confluence: Art in Twisp, opening on Saturday (March 12).
Curated by Okanogan artist Roxanne Best and Twisp artist Joanne Marracci, “My Ancestors Taught Me” asks artists to examine their ancestry, embrace it and “use it to inspire and inform their art,” Best said. “When we create art we are — whether we’re aware of it or not — influenced by our heritage. But we don’t always get to make art that is representational of that heritage. This show offers that opportunity.”
Best said that as a photographer and member of the Colville Tribe, she has spent a lot of time thinking about how her food photography reflects her ancestry.
“I’m clearly influenced by my grandmothers,” she said. “My people have a passion for food and sharing food with others. It’s because of them that I’m interested in food photography. I want other artists to have the chance to sit back and take time to recognize where their inspiration comes from.”
Best put out an open call for the exhibit as well as personally inviting several Indigenous artists she knows. She’s particularly excited about one of them: Robert Martinez, from the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
“Robert and I both work with the First Peoples Fund as fellows and teachers,” Best said. “He is sending us a ledger art piece called ‘The Matriarchy.’” A member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, Martinez combines imagery, myths, and stories of his culture with modern themes.
Community participation
Best is working on an interactive piece for the exhibit, which will invite community participation. Inspired by Kiowa-Choctaw artist Steven Paul Judd from Oklahoma, Best is creating a mosaic composed of individual tiles that community members will paint during the opening for “My Ancestors Taught Me,” which will be held at the gallery on Saturday from 5-7 p.m.
“The message behind this art piece is that it takes a community to create,” Best said. “No matter what your contribution, we all bring our unique perspectives to paint the picture of who we are and what we see.”
The exhibit will feature sculpture, painting and furniture, among other mediums. Okanogan artist Dan Brown has three pieces in the show, Methow Valley artist Janet Fagan is contributing, and Best is awaiting submissions from other local and regional artists. Each art piece will be accompanied by a narrative from the artist, describing how the piece speaks to their heritage, Best said. The visual story of the art will be juxtaposed with the written story of its inspiration.
“I feel like this is a show from the heart and center of the artists,” Best said. “It’s great way to get to know them at their core.”
Concurrently, a solo exhibit called “resilient” will hang in the Community Gallery. Featuring the textile work of Paige Reyes, a Cashmere-based Mestiza CHamoru artist, mother and advocate who owns Knotted Pines Studio, the exhibit “gleans lessons from the cyclical resilience of the Land after a wildfire burn. Utilizing mixed methods of macramé and weaving, Reyes mimics the textures and lines of the Lands that hold us, nurture us, and encourage us to remember our own resilience.”
The exhibits continue through April 23. The Confluence will observe current state and local mask guidelines. The gallery is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. For more information visit www.confluencegallery.org or call 997-2787.
