A Walk to Remember- "Writing Home"

One afternoon right after classes had ended, I headed down the streets of downtown Winnipeg and thought that "visiting an art gallery might be a good idea."

I walked to McDermot Avenue and went inside an art gallery where an exhibit was ongoing. As I reached the second floor, the sound of strings playing echoed into my ears. The room looked empty with cracked posts supporting the high celings. After all, it's an old building but the sound of music flowing in the air was enough to entice me to walk around and search for something I had no clue.

As I looked over to my right, I saw the names of several people posted on the white wall. Since it's an art gallery, I already thought that those were the names of the exhibitors. A young lady with billowy short hair and an inviting smile welcomed me into the premises. "I think I would have to give you a personal tour of our gallery," the lady said, who later introduced herself as one of the staff in that gallery.

I learned that the exhibit belongs to Bonnie Devine- artist, curator, wrtier, and educator. She is a member of the Serpent River First Nation in Northern Ontario. Devine's exhibit remodels the act of 'writing home' into an actualization of her correspondence with home, specifically Serpent River. Through photographs, sound, and impressions cast in glass, the artist presents her home, replete in texture and history.

I walked around and saw the amazing artworks on display--several of them were photographs of rocks (the most beautiful rocks I had ever seen) taken in Serpent River. Alongside the photographs were handwritten artworks with threads sewn on them. It was really interesting to see all the artworks on display.  I really felt  something while I viewed each piece of artwork--guess that was the 'connection' I had with the artist's masterpieces and the meanings behind them which touched my inner being.

There were also these blocks of glass-like material placed on each suspended wooden shelf. I initially thought those displays were 'empty' but only to find out later on that those glass bases were the artist's artworks--simply called, glass impressions. I felt each impression and got to feel the texture of the artist's hometown. It was fascinating to touch those impressions because I felt like I was being transported to Serpent River and actually feel those rocks myself.

So next time you walk along McDermot Avenue, do something different- drop by Urban Shaman Gallery where Bonnie Devine's exhibit is still on show until the 27th of March. It will surely be a walk to remember.