From the Land: Haudenosaunee Sculpture

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Cyril Henry, "Patiently Waiting," 2020

Onondaga stone, 17.5" x 5.25" x 10"

Even if we're 300 moons away from

When this mattered, most of our lives

Are touched by one holy inspiration: nature.

- Doug Stuber (Haudenosaunee)

In a time when we are so strongly tied to where we stand, the Inuit Gallery is pleased to present our latest collection of Haudenosaunee (Six Nations of the Iroquois) sculpture: 'From The Land'.

Featuring the works of Cyril Henry, Eric Silver and Joe Greene, this collection brings us the flower, fruit and feather that feeds the rich mythology of the Six Nations. The vast spattering of lakes across their land harbor many species of waterbirds, brought to life with the spark of realism in Cyril Henry’s ‘Loon’ and joined symbolically by the binding gift of wampum in Eric Silver’s ‘Mated For Life Swans’. Those that call the sky their home are equally celebrated: the night’s wide-eyed observer gazes piercingly from works like ‘All Seeing Owl’ and‘Night Gathering’, and the protectors of all Haudenosaunee are honoured in ‘Guardian Eagles’.

‘Three Sisters’ pays homage to the three crops (corn, beans and squash) that, grown entwined, provided the nations with such sustenance and stability that they became equally rooted in their spirituality. The very birth of the land is explored in ‘Creation’, depicting the sacred harmony between the twins that were born of Sky Woman: one brought the world the light and all things good, and the other twin darkness and evil. The balance remains: all hearts have two faces – but Good’s triumph is clear in its dominant presence, with a gift of the Creator, strawberries, laced through its hair.

It is a focused eye that sees the land for how it nurtures both body and mind; this introspective vision captivates in ‘My Minds Eye’ and ‘Eyes of Providence’.