A Thriving Arts and Cultural Community
“EVERYWHERE BEYOND THE HORIZON” ART SHOW OPENS AT EXCELLENT FRAMEWORKS – HOME OF THE EJ HUGHES GALLERY “Everywhere Beyond the Horizon” is the first solo exhibition in two years by Squamish, BC artist Mike Alexander who, since 2017 has steadfastly pursued his Ojibwe culture in his artistic practice to understand himself and the sacred teachings left for him by his ancestors. This show will feature 8 original paintings by Alexander and the artist will be in attendance on Saturday, December 4 from 12:00pm to 3:00pm to present his works. The bright, full colour thematic imagery of the works is a traditional reflection of the world known by the People indigenous to Treaty #1 territory in what is now known as Southern Manitoba. Mike is part of the Fourth Wave of the Woodlands School of Art, and practices in the style pioneered by the likes of Norval Morrisseau, Daphne Odjig, Carl Ray, Jackson Beardy and others who articulated a world view depicting non-human 60
beings, land, water, and the elements that might be found in a dream or during spiritual visions associates with ceremony. His work is deeply rooted in geographical location of Southern Manitoba where he was born and lived until the age of 39. For Mike, the traditional prairie homelands of the Anishinaabe are what drives his practice. Born in 1974 and adopted out of his community, language and culture, Mike is a Sixties Scoop survivor, and second-generational Residential School survivor growing up in Winnipeg where trauma from a lack of connection to his Ojibwe roots impacted him greatly. Since 2016 and shortly after relocating to BC, Mike’s healing and creative journey has allowed him to approach the pictograph mythologies of his People with a drive that has resulted in repeated grants from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the BC Arts Council, affording him the time to create and strive towards a full-time practice. Several group and solo exhibitions have taken place in a short period as Mike emerges as a gallery artist, now internationally collected, and enjoyed. In October 2020, Mike entered a mentorship with one of the greatest living masters of the Woodlands School of Art, Mark Anthony Jacobson.
Five Clans 18” x 24” by Mike Alexander
For just over a year, Mike has had a successful working apprenticeship with Mark, who himself apprenticed under Norval Morrisseau. Mark’s knowledge as a Pipe carrier and Eagle Staff carrier has been helping Mike to understand that his role as a storyteller is critical to the transmission of Ojibwe culture. Mike’s art proudly and vividly conveys an emerging evolution of his own individual aesthetic as it
relates to the traditional past of the Anishinaabemowin. His work is a warm invitation and hearty welcome to those whose homelands are both distant and close to heart. Everywhere Beyond the Horizon is where Mike is pulling from to create these works and these visions tell life-long and hard-earned stories of connection, hope and reclamation. Excellent Frameworks – Home of the EJ Hughes Gallery115 Kenneth St, Duncan 250-746-7112
