Carver brings skill to Fort Simpson
Art exhibit explores relationship between humanity and nature
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 24, 2015
LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Those in the Deh Cho who feel the ties between nature and mankind will have the opportunity to experience carver John Sabourin's work at the Open Sky Gallery from Jan. 2 to Feb. 5.
Sabourin will be coming to Fort Simpson in the new year for a workshop and a display at the Open Sky Gallery. - photo courtesy of John Sabourin
|
Sabourin, who originally hails from Fort Simpson, will be returning home for the exhibition opening on Jan. 2 for the occasion.
"I'm looking forward to coming home and showing my hometown what I've been doing," Sabourin said.
"I haven't brought my art back for a while ... (and) I've never really exhibited at Open Sky."
He has, however, done workshops in the past as part of the Open Sky Creative Society's annual summer festival. A full exhibit, though, is a new experience.
"I'm excited," he said.
The exhibition will feature between six and eight carvings from Sabourin's newest collection in a display titled "Awakening the Spirit."
One of the pieces he has finished plays on the relationship between man and raven. Sabourin said the carvings further a display he created for a Vancouver show last year.
"(This is) sort of a continuation of the theme I'm working on," he said.
"What I'm trying to do with my project right now is play with animals and human beings interacting."
Inspiration for part of the display comes from a show he did in October, where he spent nine days in Iceland for the Circumpolar Art Exhibit.
It was the first time Sabourin had traveled to Iceland, and he said sharing traditions and culture with other artists was a "learning experience."
"You talk to a lot of Russians, and the Sami people of Northern Sweden, and Greenland - you talk about their culture, history, their music and their art," he said.
"Some of the Russian carvers carve nothing but mammoth tusk. They brought a lot of mammoth tusk with them from Russia, and the amount of detail and work that went into a high-quality art piece was amazing. I was just blown away."
Likewise, Sabourin spent some time talking to Icelandic reindeer herders, which gave him inspiration for the piece he is currently carving.
"When I was talking to them, they talked about their traditions and reindeer herding ... (so) today I started working on a caribou, or reindeer, with a man sitting on its head and another man kind of pulling its tail," he said.
Awakening the Spirit will open at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2.
Sabourin will return to the community on Feb. 6 to lead a soapstone carving workshop for the Open Sky Creative Society.
Participants wishing to register for that workshop must do so in advance.
