Meagan Musseau: PEJIPUK

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Meagan Musseau, "[re]claim: elmastukwek," 2018

mixed media

Meagan Musseau: PEJIPUK

Opening: Thursday, December 5, 7pm

PEJIPUK is an exhibition by Meagan Musseau exploring her inherent and intuitive connections to Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) and Mi’kma’ki (Atlantic Canada). This exhibition integrates Indigenous art practice with contemporary techniques to reclaim Mi’kmaq place names and cultural art forms. Musseau uses the labour intensive processes of beadwork, basketry, and land-based action to create objects embedded with a narrative. The [re]claim series (2017-ongoing) focuses on materializing Mi’kmaw descriptions of place through beading the language on commercially tanned and dyed rabbit fur. The collection of Intergalactic L’nu Baskets (2017-ongoing) blends customary materials, such as ash wood and sweetgrass, with synthetic vinyl and flagging tape to explore the artform of fancy basketry. The interweave of natural and synthetic materials inspired her land-based performance and video installation when they poison the bogs we will still braid sweetgrass (2017). In this exhibition, Musseau emphasizes limited access to natural resources, while practicing adaptation by utilizing new materials to continue Indigenous ways of making.

Meagan Musseau is an L’nu artist from the Mi’kmaq Nation. Her practice is rooted in Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk territory (Bay of Islands, Western Newfoundland) and extends to other areas of Mi’kma’ki and Wabanaki territory. Meagan nourishes an interdisciplinary practice by working with customary art forms and new media, such as basketry, beadwork, land-based performance, video and installation. She focuses on creating artwork, dancing, learning the Mi’kmaw language, and facilitating workshops as a way to actively participate in survivance. Her work has been exhibited nationally, supported by numerous awards, and featured in publications such as Canadian Art, Border Crossings, and Visual Arts News. Meagan is currently working towards solo exhibitions at Grunt Gallery (Vancouver 2020), Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre (Edmonton, 2020) and TRUCK Contemporary Art Gallery (Calgary 2020).