1994 / 6th Native American Fine Arts Invitational, The Heard Museum, Phoenix, AZ / Sculpture
Thousands of pine needles that glimmered red and gold were inserted through wire mesh stretched in rectangular frames in homage to a homeless woman who froze to death on the streets of Sioux Lookout, Ontario, near Belmore’s home. The work recalls the harsh circumstances of a woman’s death juxtaposed against the severity of nature. It was created with Belmore’s characteristically intense and repetitive gesture, meticulous and exhausting, perhaps as an act of perseverance against the injustices of contemporary society.
Daina Augaitis and Kathleen Ritter, eds., Rebecca Belmore: Rising to the Occasion, Vancouver Art Gallery, 2008
Photo credit: Trevor Mills / Vancouver Art Gallery
