RECENT Exhibitions
Martin Akwiranoron Loft: Ne Karahstánion (Images) / (Pictures)
19ieme MOMENTA biennale d’art contemporain
September 5- October 25, 2025
This exhibition is a collaborative partnership between daphne and MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain.
“A PHOTOGRAPHIC INCURSION IN TIÖTIAH:KE”
by Guy Sioui Durand
A Haudenosaunee dream, camera in hand, in the urban landscape? That is just where Martin Akwiranoron Loft’s talent resides. Indigenous spirits inhabit Tiöhtià:ke, where the artist captures these living energies through his photographic incursions. daphne hosts these immutable moments in what could be qualified as “Complete Indigenous Art.” Multiple aspects of Ohterah’/Ankosé converge in pictures, a holistic and animist Indigenous vision in a decolonization state. The photographer approaches the City as an evolution of the large villages of Kanonhséshne, the Iroquoian Longhouses.
The Ne Karahstànion exhibition brings together at least three types of real-life images that symbolically evoke, for me, features of Haudenosaunee civilization: (1) Sky Dancers achieving the ultimate urban connection on top of bridges and skyscrapers that define today’s America; (2) gatherings from which emanate the spirit of the Wampum and the steps of the Smoke Dance; (3) proud portraits/a vibrant Indigenous presence in Tiöhtià:ke.
Sky Dancers
In addition to his astonishing “still lifes” and collaborative graphic prints, an intriguing and little-noticed aspect of his visual style focuses on the urban landscape. Loft uses photography to sketch multiple encounters between architectural structures and the movement of passersby. Without limiting himself to an identity-based photography, his image arrangements merging bridge designs, natural environment, and skyscrapers with silhouettes nevertheless convey the energy of the renowned Mohawk Ironworkers, those authentic heroes known as Sky Dancers or Sky Walkers and who work to complete structures high above city dwellers.
Wampum, Rivers of Words, and the New Footsteps of Smoke Dance
Another series of photographs captures the pulse of urban gatherings. Like embroidered Wampum, these “rivers of words” with diplomatic purposes reminding us of our waterways before asphalt roadways darted across, but this time woven out of People. Loft captures beaded stills of this entity that is “us,” citizens demonstrating throughout the City. From an Iroquois perspective, these geopolitical moments act as a reconnecting vector with the paths of collective memory, with the moccasin trails laid down by ancient footsteps. There was a time of gratitude and alliances between the Great Confederations during the early Contacts. This was the case in 1701 (Great Peace of Montreal), in 2003 (Peace of the Braves/Paix des Braves) and in 2024 (Truth and Reconciliation). Today, this translates into movements and marches for justice and reparations needed to pave the way towards reconciliation. It is as if fresh footsteps were choreographed into an unreserved, militant Smoke Dance.
Portraits / Presence
Following in the footsteps of Zacharie Tehariolin Vincent, a pioneer of critical self-portraiture interested in 19th-century American photography, Loft captures and displays proud poses of Indigenous people in portraits in the heart of Tiöhtià:ke. Unlike the famous military and anthropological “photographic missions” of non-Indigenous people, this artist takes a critical stance away from the “misery-focused” or “exotic” portraits of Indigenous people, preferring to meet his subjects in the urban environment. He uses a mobile studio and black and white photography as a strategy of disruption in contrast to the Settler lens. This proud assertion of Indigenous presence in the city redefines its topography. I see connections here with both the Warriors Protection Society and the healing medicines of the “False Faces.”
The activism of Iroquois photographers such as Martin Akwiranoron Loft, Jeff Thomas, and Shelley Niro, explores different territorialities, including those of shifting identities in the city. For one, multidisciplinary artist and author Gabriel Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, also a photographer herself, it takes root in the Pines of Kahnesatake, a nourishing, medicinal, and ritual forest. Her groundbreaking book When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance (Between the Lines, 2024) expresses this shared holistic outlook, this same vision of the Onkwehon:we embodied by Loft.
As a Wendat thinker, Ne Karahstànion strikes me as a milestone in Indigenous art history, a counter-narrative in full exposure!
Brenda Mallory
ᎬᏅᎯ ᎨᏍᏒ ᎡᎶᎯ ᎣᏨᏍᏏᏰᏗᎢ / gvhnvhi gesv elohi otsvsiyediʔi / Marcher dans un monde entrelacé / To Walk in an Intertwined World
May 17-August 2, 2025
“Something like a whole”
by Lois Taylor Biggs
From a distance, it’s hard to say if the branched tan tendrils making up Brenda Mallory’s Adaptive Connections (ᎠᎵᎪᏍᏒ ᎦᏁᏟᏴᏍᎬ) are hard or soft. Would they shatter at the touch like fragile coral, or ease into the hand like the stems of a plant?
They are made of waxed flannel; they are stronger than they appear. Each of the seven clusters is cinched at its core with black felt, nuts, and bolts. Are these points of industrial constriction, or marks of creative convergence? In any case, the tendrils branch into each other at crown and root. They dangle onto the floor, suggesting a complex system that can’t be contained.
Mallory is interested in systems like these – of culture, of memory, of biology and form. She is conscious of their broken spots, and curious about the strange combinations of thought and material that can form in their repair. Rather than perfect mending, she is drawn to open-ended re-creation. Literary scholar Eve Sedgwick speaks to similar dynamics in her 1995 essay “Paranoid and Reparative Reading.” Rather than operating in a state of paranoia, viewing a text – or the world – as an assembly of fragmented “part-objects,” she suggests that we assemble an integrated, sustaining object with the fragments we hold – “something like a whole.”1 To Walk in an Intertwined World moves in this vein, turning creative attention to the mysteries of interconnectedness.
New Release (ᎢᏤᎢ ᎤᏙᏢᏍᏒ) is made of 16mm film reels, rescued from a Waste Transfer Facility dump. Mallory manipulates them into glossy black vessels. These forms recall the medieval myth of the barnacle goose: once, scholars and religious leaders believed that the common black-and-white birds emerged from seaside crustaceans. What organisms might emerge from these coiled reels of film (or from the similarly peculiar hinged shells, bronze crescents, and clustered pods throughout the gallery)? Are they, themselves, new life forms – “new releases”? It’s easy to imagine them squelching along a surface, tilting in different directions, whispering to each other through pitch-black mouths. They are uncanny and comic, speaking less to reconstruction than to strange reformulations.
Mallory recognizes that, when needed, entanglement unnerves as it sustains. Warnings (ᏗᏓᏕᏯᏙᏗᏍᎩ), a set of 14 cloth-and-wax forms dangling on metal chains, haunts the space. Pasty white tufts outline gaping black indents; the sculptures swing in the air, spread far enough to walk between. The work speaks on a visceral level: stay away, come closer, something is wrong here. As a child in Oklahoma, Mallory often saw coyote carcasses hanging on barbed wire fences. Warnings (ᏗᏓᏕᏯᏙᏗᏍᎩ) references this memory, the mark of private property and its violent toll. The off-kilter, carcass-like forms are unavoidable part-objects of a troubled whole.
There’s a subtle sense, throughout the exhibition, of a word or image on the tip of one’s tongue. Record and Remember (ᎯᏝᎲᎦ ᎠᎴ ᎭᏅᏓᏓ) materializes this. The waxed cloth, felt, and waxed cord work references wampum belts used by Indigenous people to hold stories and diplomatic ties. The geometric design embedded in its waxy “beads” is barely legible, light orange on charred orange. Mallory links it to endangered languages just beyond our understanding. In a way, it speaks similarly to the exhibition at large: life’s entanglement is the plainest reality, and too often, the hardest to grasp. But with time and attention, its image emerges.
In To Walk in an Intertwined World, Mallory considers an interconnectedness that is strange and mundane, unwieldy and comforting. Her webs of life contain the gap that trips us, the net that catches us, and the laughter that echoes back as we find our footing. They are torn in places, and mended in others – though not always in the ways we expect. At daphne, Mallory guides us through the “intertwined world” through her material imagination, language of abstraction, and sense for the vast, sustaining whole.
1 Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, “Paranoid and Reparative Reading, or, You’re So Paranoid, You Probably Think This Essay Is About You,” in Touching Feeling (Duke University Press: Durham, 2002), 128.
Sierra Barber
Kakaráhtatie / Transporter les histoires / Carrying Stories
June 21 - August 2, 2025
Stories From the Sky
by Sherry Farrell Racette
Sierra Barber creates subtle storied objects with perfect stitches and an exquisite colour palette. Throughout her artistic practice she has been drawn to processual work that relies on time, precision, and care. Sierra is a painter. She has worked in encaustic, oils, and more recently beads. She joined the OCADU beading circle, and like many of us, picking up the needle was a gesture of connection and resilience. In these new “sister” pieces, the artist continues to develop imagery she has explored over three years: skies, clouds, flowers and strawberries. Those four subjects, like her work, carry a basket of stories. Although not literally present, there are quiet references to Sky Woman, Atsit'saká:ion (Mature or Ancient Flower). The flowers carefully placed on sky blue fields pay homage to her and the plants that grew from her body. In Portal (2024), ken’niyohontésha, the life-sustaining strawberry, falls like manna from the sky. Strawberry seeds become sky-tears.
Like many bead artists, Sierra reaches back to our grandmothers and their artwork sleeping in museum collections. She references the shapes found in the voluminous mid-late 19th century beadwork production created for the souvenir market. Beaded “whimsies”, picture frames, exquisite bags and purses were sold on the streets of Montreal and tourist sites such as Niagara Falls. These are stories of labour, innovation, and persistence. Once purchased, many of the pieces were worn and used, making and holding new stories. Sierra repurposes elements of the historic work to tell new stories. In Portal, the shape of a beaded picture frame becomes a passage and beaded tassels ornament the bottom of the painting, as they once finished a frame or a bag. Storyteller echoes a floral composition from a mid-19th century bag. The silhouette of the original piece is reproduced on the beaded painting, but released from the confines of functional form, the sky cloud and berry flowers float in suspended animation.
Using the concept of beaded paintings, Sierra deftly shifts between painted and beaded elements that are carefully placed or layered, creating subtle optical illusions as the surface shifts and reveals. Her mastery of both painting and beadwork creates a soft power. Each carefully placed bead builds a surface, alternating between a two-needle flat stitch and classic Kanien’kehà:ka raised beadwork. These new works introduce velvet as a beading surface, further drawing from historic artists. Working with contemporary and antique beads, stylized realism is rendered in subtle colour combinations. A painted surface is visible behind an opening. Is that painted or beaded? The viewer wants to reach out and touch to confirm what their eyes are telling them. Thousands of stitches, executed perfectly, speak to care taken and a profound respect for both the stories and earlier artists. These art works demand close and repeated viewing.
Although Sierra Barber draws specifically from her Kanien’kehà:ka background, skies and strawberries resonate with a broader audience. Years ago, an elder told me that we use blue in our beadwork because a blue sky represents hope. We lift our eyes upwards for strength. In Anishinaabemowin, ode’iini (strawberries) are “heart medicine” both literally as medicine and symbolically for their taste and colour. June is ode’imini-giizis (Strawberry Moon). They are the first sweet gift after a hard winter. These works are medicine. Even if you don’t know the stories you will feel them. They lift us up.
Michael Belmore: bzaan-yaa / en silence, immobile / be quiet, be still
January 17 - April 12, 2025
Text by Michael Belmore
Materials have a voice, they speak a language and have a history of conversation that extends well beyond our fleeting human existence. Throughout my practice I have attempted to enter into this exchange, offering my voice to speak about the past and the future, about our connection to this land and its ever-changing reality. Seemingly small things, simple things, inspire my work; the swing of a hammer, the warmth of a fire, the persistence of waves on a shore. Through the insinuation of these actions, a much larger consequence is inferred.
Fire offers warmth, provides comfort, and creates community. It is an extension of the setting sun, pushing back the cool night air. At some point in our lives, most of us have been lost in thought, looking deep into the flickering light emanating from burning embers. This fire-inspired sense of solitude has existed since humankind first transformed kindling to flame.
There is an immediacy to this world, I am looking to slow our conversations. The snow fence while a barrier acts to only limit movement, not prevent it, in this way erecting the fence causes the snow or sand to settle. Similarly, the wood and wire works, slow time by asking the viewer to consider the geometric patterning applied to the wooden surface. For several years my work has revolved around our use of technology and how it has affected our relationship to the environment. The work Bridge combines traditional Anishinaabe beadwork with the digital language of 1’s and 0’s used by computers. The design is the definition of the word “Bridge” (something intended to reconcile or connect two seemingly incompatible things). I often use the Ascii code as a mnemonic device to convey information that directly impacts my reality. At times my work may seem disjointed, yet the reality is that together my work and processes speak about the environment, about land, about water, and well, what it is to be Anishinaabe.
In creating works, I have always endeavored to be fluid and responsive to place. Liminal sites, such as shorelines that mark the threshold between opposing elements of water, and the earth and sky. In the Anishinaabe worldview, the universe is understood to be composed of layers. Divided into contrasting upper and lower worlds and zones of power, this tiered cosmos is animated by the ongoing and reciprocal interaction of beings and persons both natural and spiritual.
I see my work as animate, as having agency and memory. I consider my practice as being a kind of collaboration between human and materials, between human lifetime and geological time, or deep time. I situate my work as mnemonic. My works are vessels offering a narrative and a discourse that gives insight into our community and our collective histories.
Tyson Houseman:
Mycorrhizal Dreaming / Rêveries mycorhiziennes
March 1st - March 9th, 2025
daphne presents Mycorrhizal Dreaming, an exterior projection by Tyson Houseman during Nuit blanche 2025. The projection opens on March 1st at 5pm, and will be on view on daphne’s front window from March 1st to 9th.
“The title Mycorrhizal Dreaming speaks to these different and deeper forms of knowledge that come from the land [...] and medicines, and the research and understandings of different forms of consciousness of the plants and the land.” Tyson Houseman
Mycorrhizal Dreaming is an immersive installation using video projection feedback loops to transform and respond to specific spaces in an infinite loop projection installation, centered around a suspended botanical sculpture.
Ludovic Boney
Yahwatsira’ / Family Gathering / Rassemblement familial
September 6 - December 14, 2024
Ludovic Boney’s art installation titled yahwatsira’ / Rassemblement familial / Family Gathering is a powerful and immersive experience that transforms our perspective of space, setting, and time. The artist cleverly blends nostalgia, memories, and reflection into one unforgettable journey that reminds us of the importance of community, family, and the simple pleasures of life.
Within the confines of a temporary car shelter, an unexpected sight awaits the curious observer. Familiar domestic scenes unfold as we venture through this unique structure, carefully selected by the artist for its resemblance to the longhouses of the Huron-Wendat Nation. Quebec City’s temporary car shelters are not just functional structures for protecting vehicles from harsh winter conditions, they have become iconic symbols of the unique winter landscape and an ingrained part of the local cultural fabric. Tempos and longhouses of the Huron-Wendat Nation may differ in their construction and cultural contexts, but they share a common purpose in providing shelter and protection. Both structures speak to the adaptability and ingenuity of communities in creating spaces that meet their specific needs. By understanding and appreciating the diversity of shelter structures, we can gain deeper insights into the relationship between humans, their environments, and the cultural expressions that emerge from this interaction.
Boney is known for his awe-inspiring large-scale public art projects that evoke a sense of wonder and curiosity in viewers. Public art has long been considered a catalyst for cultural expression, urban revitalization, and community engagement. However, it is important to recognize that public art can sometimes be perceived as impersonal, detached from the individual, and lacking a personal connection. By creating a multi-sensory experience, Boney encourages us to immerse ourselves in the artwork, triggering memories that evoke a sense of nostalgia. We are reminded of cherished moments shared with loved ones, of laughter echoing through family gatherings, and of the simple pleasures that bring us joy. In this way, the artist prompts us to appreciate the importance of community and the power of human connection.