Richard Asham | Sirens, Sharks & Shipwrecks

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Richard Asham, "Sirens, Sharks, & Shipwrecks," 2022

mixed media on canvas, 30” h x 94” w. Courtesy of the Artist.

Opening night: Friday, April 14 from 5pm to 9pm

Richard Asham - Sirens, Sharks & Shipwrecks

See this writing in Swampy Cree at urbanshaman.org

Bio

Richard Asham is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist of mixed ancestry who most closely identifies with his indigenous Swampy Cree roots. Depending on the swing of the creative pendulum, Rick produces mixed media works (predominantly oil paintings on canvas but also sculptures and assemblages), has written several solo and collaborative books, performed music in bands, and dabbles in film, photography and theatre.

Statement

My intent for Sirens, Sharks and Shipwrecks is (admittedly) not particularly linear but will include both two and three-dimensional works. So, here are some thoughts...

• Sirens- A siren can intimate many different connotations. The wailing of a police, fire, or ambulance siren can announce the imminent arrival of a (mostly unwelcome) authority sent to deal with an unpleasant situation. Warnings. But I am approaching ‘sirens’ from the mythological perspective. Creatures (sometimes called ‘mermaids’) that alternately lured sailors to their deaths and/or offered succor and the prospect of love.

• Sharks- Misunderstood monsters of the deep. Powerful, primordial. A predatorial mixture of savage power and raw beauty. My work contains many mysterious beasts of land, air, and sea.

• Shipwrecks- In keeping with the quasi-nautical theme, for hundreds upon hundreds of years ships have been a primary instrument of conquest. The ship’s masters (sailors as alluded to above) were all too often harbingers of death, destruction, and disease but also ambassadors of strange languages and rituals into fantastic new lands. Unfortunate clashes between alien cultures. Voyages to the absolute unknown. Vision quests into dream-like destinations whose exotic promises remained largely unrealized. These landscapes play a central role in my art.

Itáwinik Táspasinakéwikanik: Anima Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery iticik éwí naskwásímácik anikik kakinaw kákípé sá sítoskamátocik kapé askíy, nitótéminánik, owícihiwéwak, éko anihi nanátok itáwina éko kakinaw nitákómákaninánik, éko mína óhi óta ká ati mámawasinahikásocik NCI FM, Wawanesa Insurance, Winnipeg Foundation, Manitoba Heritage, Winnipeg Arts Council, the Manitoba Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts. ~ Miigwetch/ Pidamaya-ye(-do)/ Marsi/ Ekosi / Maarsii/ Miikwehc/ Nakurmiik/Thank you