"When I paint, I always remember the land, the days in childhood when, with my grandparents or parents, I learned about the smells of the forest, the colors of the sky, the power of nature. When I create, these colors come back to me, flowing onto the canvas, teaching me the ancient routes of my people through the Nutshimit, the interior of the land. Painting is a journey through time, where the earth before it was changed by humans simply wishes to come back to us to awaken where we came from." - Natasha Kanapé Fontaine
Artistic approach
The artistic approach revolves around a reflection in abstract painting on the relationship between the unconscious, genetic memory, the human being as a whole, and the invisible.
During the creative process, constant reflection is the order of the day. Each brushstroke is in one sense random, and in another sense following a creative movement made by intuition. Her paintings reflect the will to always keep searching for the territory and memory of her ancestors.
Speaking of memory, for Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, abstract painting and its expression enable her to search her unconscious for the last fragments of what her ancestors have left her in the form of learning and genetic memory. During a 700 km walking experiment, Kanapé Fontaine experienced in her body the extent to which the human metabolism, especially that of the descendants of nomadic peoples, still carries, even after several generations, the movement of walking and climbing in the territories. It is from this movement, from these imprinted memories of the body and landscapes, revealed as soon as we close our eyes, that Kanapé Fontaine has drawn all her inspiration for over a decade.
Each painting is therefore a direct, intuitive expression, driven by the desire to return to the land one day or another, dreaming of the day when she can set off on an expedition, by canoe, like her ancestors, inland. It's also a desire to leave her body to the land, to let it speak with the winds, the mountains, the rivers, the waterfalls.
The aim of each painting is to ignite in the visitor's subconscious not only a respect for aboriginal cultures, but also a dialogue as a human being with the territory beneath our feet. For the artist, painting the territory is another way of claiming it, while also offering it to the world in all its power.
Bio
Natasha Kanapé Fontaine is an Innu writer, poet and interdisciplinary artist from Pessamit, on the Nitassinan (North Shore, Quebec, Canada). She lives in Tio'tia:ke - known as Montreal. Her poetic works and essays are recognized and acclaimed by critics, travel the world, translated into several languages and are studied at several levels in schools in Quebec and elsewhere. In 2017, she received the Rights and Freedoms Award for her poetry and her contribution on bringing people closer through art, writing, performance, dialogue - for future generations to grow through sharing, respect and exchanges between cultures. At only 29 years old, she was already amongst the public figures who took part into the recognition of the Indigenous peoples of Quebec, in Canada and elsewhere in the world. In 2021, she received the grade of Chevalier de l'Ordre des arts et des lettres de la République française. She works as well as a translator, screenwriter, consultant on Indigenous literature and a sensitivity reader.