Tom Wilson’s TAP exhibition tells the story of Mohawk resilience, cultural resurgence, and the lasting effects of residential school on families. Wilson discovered his Mohawk heritage and began to reconnect to his people at the age of 53. 

Pointillistic dots are crowded in with spidery, frequently indiscernible script, referring to the colonial linguistics of the English language forced upon Indigenous ways of being. Clusters of dots mingle and separate like communities. Abundant use of colour pulls from the biodiverse woodland landscape of flowers. Natural motifs of crows and fish speak to the reconnection to non-human relations. 

Most intimidating are Wilson’s nun figures. These imposing figures resemble the Grim Reaper, a fitting allusion when so many First Nations children met their death at the hands of the Catholic Church. The nuns have no faces except for a red crucifix in place of eyes, as these women abandoned their humanity for a violent, cruel ideology. Not only is this a reminder of a lack of humanity at the heart of colonization, but a reminder about the perceived purity and kindness of white women. 

Let this exhibition be a reminder to our readers to engage in the stories of survivorship of FNIM people. Please take a moment to read, at the very least, the Child Welfare and Language Sections of the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action. https://crc-canada.org/en/ressources/calls-to-action-truth-reconciliation-commission-canada/

Mohawk Warriors, Hunters & Chiefs: The Art of Tom Wilson is on exhibition at TAP Centre for Creativity from November 14th to December 21st, 2024