Johnny Bandura | The 215

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Johnny Bandura, "Desert Warrior, The General Warrior in Fox Hat, The Bride, The Spaceman, The Librarian," 2021

oil on canvas, 28 x 35.5 cm. Courtesy of the Artist.

It’s been two years since the May 2021 discovery of the 215 children in graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, referred to by Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc as Le Estcwicwéy̓ (the missing). Qayqayt First Nation artist  Johnny Bandura painted 215 portraits that imagine what the children may have become had they survived to adulthood. Bandura began painting the portraits as a therapeutic process; his grandmother was a Residential School survivor from Kamloops, and he remains connected to family in the region. The faces in the portraits are rendered in black and white to reference the absence of the children’s lives, while splashes of colour emphasize ornamentation and dress that imagine the children’s futures. The portraits depict people in Indigenous regalia as well as individuals wearing uniforms of everyday occupations, representing the lives missing from our community.

Exhibition Text:

Upon hearing the news in May of 2021 of the 215 children discovered in graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School, Johnny Bandura began painting 215 portraits as a therapeutic process. He felt compelled to respond to the findings as his grandmother was a Residential School survivor from Kamloops and Bandura remains connected to family in the region.  

Through the portraits, Bandura imagines what the children may have become had they survived to adulthood. The faces are rendered in black and white and reference the absence of the children’s lives, while splashes of colour emphasize ornamentation and dress that imagine the children’s futures. Some are depicted in traditional Indigenous regalia while others are painted in the clothing and uniforms of everyday occupations, including teachers, delivery drivers, office workers, and chefs. Others are celebrated as artists, musicians, mimes, and clowns.  

Johnny Bandura is a member of the Qayqayt First Nation (New Westminster) and grew up in Kamloops and Hay River, Northwest Territories.  

The exhibition has shown at The Anvil Centre, New Westminster, BC and the paintings have been displayed at events for Orange Shirt Day at Thompson Rivers University, National Indigenous Day at Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc, and in Edmonton, Alberta.