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Janine Lott Drumming Past, Present and Future records the recent spiritual and artistic journey of Okanagan First Nation artist, Janine Lott. A member of the Westbank First Nation, Janine Lott has been exploring the rich history and culture of her people and their connection to the land - a land, which before European contact and borders, stretched from the Vernon area down through the southern Okanagan Valley and into northern Washington state. A proud and vibrant people with a unique language, the Okanagan left cultural traces in rock drawings and pictographs, finely woven clothing and pine needle baskets, drums, rattles, songs, stories and music. Lott has searched these traces, used them as inspiration and has integrated them into her own body of work. After researching and experimenting with a range of media, she has found her artistic voice in the gourd. Primitive, organic and versatile, gourds have been used since the dawn of humankind by tribes and ethnic cultures worldwide. They are universal vessels with utilitarian and aesthetic qualities that have fascinated artists and collectors for centuries. Some years
back, Janine Lott began working with vintage gourd seeds sent to her from
various areas of the world through a heritage seed organization. She began to
grow several varieties, finally selecting her favourite; diverse in size and
shape - contorted, twisted, large and small.
On her small family acreage in Westbank, she recycles water from a
natural pond to irrigate her garden. From
seedlings, to tiny plants and then harvested gourds, she knows her medium
intimately. She scrubs, scrapes,
cuts, cleans, paints, stains and burns her images drawn from visions, dreams and
the pictorial work of her ancestors. Janine
Lott has brought the past to present by integrating old with new, using
contemporary colour agents like acrylic paints, inks, and dyes, as well as the
natural pigments gathered and used in her people’s pictographs. A new and
regenerated consciousness, a desire to honour her people, her culture, to
redefine old art forms and express herself in new ways, is evidenced in this
lovely body of work. Janine Lott has discovered that creating is as inherent to
her as it was to her ancestors. Guest
Curator: Gayle Liman Drumming Past, Present and Future is featured in the Reynolds Gallery and the Rotary Courtyard. Courtyard Installation
Reynolds Gallery Images
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Copyright © 1999 - 2005 KELOWNA ART GALLERY
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