Gage’gajiiwaan (Water flowing eternally brings people together), a solo exhibition by Cree-Ojibway artist KC Adams, reflects on the relationships between ancestral knowledge, memory and the sacredness of water. Using a variety of media, including copper, pottery and “birch bark technology,” the exhibition is a visual reminder of the knowledge bundles (traditional teachings) that are passed on to the next generation of life givers and water protectors.

Mazes of digital circuit boards along swaths of birch bark reveal the dynamic relationship between nature and technology; copper and clay pottery, created using ancestral methods, reflect traditions of caring for water. The exhibition asks: How can traditional ways of being in relation with water guide relationships to water in the future? Can ancestral knowledge systems inform new technologies of caring for water in Indigenous communities? In the context of limited access to safe drinking water in too many First Nations communities, calling attention to the inherent sacredness of water is critically important.

In this exhibition, KC Adams shares her ongoing personal endeavor to recall lasting pathways of blood memory and transmit knowledge of traditional relationships with water for future generations.

view the artwork

Watch the recorded talks and workshops below

Handbuilding Workshop Ancient Technologies Protecting Sacred Water

From the Land and Water: Closing Performance YouTube Playlist of GAGE’GAJIIWAAN

Artist Biography:
KC Adams (Cree, Ojibway) is a Winnipeg-based artist who graduated from Concordia University with a BFA in studio arts. Adams has had several solo exhibitions, group exhibitions and been in three biennales including the PHOTOQUAI: Biennale des images du monde in Paris, France. Adams participated in residencies at the Banff Centre, the Confederation Art Centre in Charlottetown, the National Museum of the American Indian and the Parramatta Arts Gallery in Australia. Her work is in many permanent collections nationally and internationally. Twenty pieces from the Cyborg Hybrid series are in the permanent collection of the National Art Gallery in Ottawa and four trees from Birch Bark Ltd, are in the collection of the Canadian Consulate of Australia, NSW.