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since May 6, 2004

Faye Heavyshield

Faye HeavyShield was born on the Stand Off Reserve in southern Alberta and is a member of the Blood nation. She graduated from the Alberta College of Art in 1985, and continued her studies at the University of Calgary. Gaining prominence and recognition in the past few years, her work has been the subject of many solo shows including major exhibitions of First Nations contemporary art. HeavyShield's work is a fusion of highly evolved personal and powerful imagery influenced by her Christian and Blood upbringing. Her minimalist installations are metaphors of the human body and a reflection of her personal experiences.

Six pairs of high-heel shoes are arranged into a circular configuration that yields to an empowered feeling of bravado. The shoes not only represent the artist's own sisters, but extend on a more universal level to symbolize all women. The molded cloven toes of the shoes reference the vulnerability of female sexuality, and in their outward positioning, form a protective circle symbolic of a bond of sisterhood. "Women have to protect themselves from a lot more than men do," says HeavyShield, "Sisters stands for the strength and power, and the empowerment in looking towards ourselves for protection."

Faye HeavyShield 1953-
Sisters, 1993

plaster, moulding compound, tinted gesso and shoes
diameter: 105.0 cm
Purchase 1995
1995.2.a-i