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Window Gallery
Colonized Land
Karlie King
May 4- June 1 | 2024
Many years ago, when I was taking Fine Arts classes at the U of R, one of my professors (who was from away) commented that southern Saskatchewan was the most colonized land in Canada. At the time, having not been to many other parts of Canada, I was taken aback by this statement, and a little offended. I had spent much time in rural southern Saskatchewan and viewed the wide open spaces as free and ‘natural.’ But, with time and travel, and education, I soon came to realize that this somewhat offensive comment was truth. Almost all of southern Saskatchewan has been sectioned off into neat little squares, for production and ownership. The original landscape and the indigenous plants have been colonized and fenced into submission, growing only where they are allowed to grow.
These papier-mâché vases and plant arrangements speak to situation. The maps, which show the extensive colonization of land, bind the indigenous plants that once covered this un-colonized land.
Karlie King, BA, MA and three years of a PhD, has received a variety of grants and awards, including a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Grant, Saskatchewan Arts Board Indigenous Pathways Initiative Grant, and a SaskArts Independent Arts Grant.
King’s artwork covers a broad range – from a functional line of pottery, to large-scale community projects, to street art. King’s artwork has been commissioned by the City of Regina and is also included in the SaskArts Permanent Art Collection. Plus, her artwork has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the country.
She was the Artist-In-Residence at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, SK; and in January 2021 she was the first virtual Artist-In-Resident at Wanuskewin Heritage Park (Saskatoon SK).
She currently is Coordinator of SaskGalleries. And teaches pottery at Cathedral School of Art.
Image: Karlie King, red willow, wire, papier-mâché, plants, 42” h x 18” w x 12” Photo credit: Karlie King
