This series focuses on understanding the changes happening to waterways here in the United States and the many Indigenous people who continue to fight for its protection. Nothing can exist without water and many Indigenous communities today still struggle for access to water. Water is an essential part of understanding the land and preserving the history & memory it carries. Mace expands, 'It encompasses the importance of nature and recognising Indigenous people as the original caretakers of the land that they reside on. Also included in the exhibition are works from her series Tó éí iiná which translates to 'water is life,' an essential aspect for all Indigenous people. The textual element of storytelling informs what we are looking at and the histories of these places, materials, and connections to the land and origin stories. Often arranged in diptychs and triptychs, Mace pairs images of different objects, landscapes, or memories selected by the subjects she includes. Included in the exhibition are Mace's most recent works, Dahodiyinii (Sacred Places). Mace expands, 'Through the colour łichíí (red), I explore the past, present, and future with forms inspired by Kinétah (land).' The deep red of the dyed prints references the earliest Diné weavers' relationship to the resource cochineal, which provided medicine and protective powers, and was often used in woven works. Several series in the show include Nihá (for us), which explores Diné traditions and their relationship to memory and land. Her 'blue period' includes cyanotypes that feature the symbols Na'ashjé'íí Asdzáá (Spider-Woman), Dził (Mountain), Tsił nó'ołí' (Whirling Log), and Dii (Four). Mace creates works in four colours, focusing on one colour at a time. 'It is through materials that a visual language is expressed through the calm resonance of Hózhó Nahasdlii (living within balance).' Spider-Woman played an integral part in preserving the lives of the Diné by guiding the earliest weavers so they could provide for themselves and teach ways of balance within the mind, body, and soul. Mace utilises design elements from her heritage, most often incorporating the motif of Na'ashjéii Asdzáá, Spider-Woman, who is one of the most important deities to the Diné. She states, 'The materials I use, both traditional and non-traditional, are connected to the places they reside, the memories they hold, and the complexities they share to our lineage.' Diné Bé' Iiná will feature chemigrams, beaded cyanotypes, weavings, and editioned prints that will explore Mace's chemistry based and multi-faceted processes that focus on translating the language of Diné (Navajo) history and beliefs.Ĭhoosing materials deliberately, Mace reinterprets the symbols of creation stories, cosmologies, and social structures. The exhibition, Diné Bé' Iiná (The Diné Lifeway), opens May 6–June 25, 2022, with a reception on May 6, 2022, from 6-8 pm. Opening reception with the artist: May 6, 6-8 pmīruce Silverstein Gallery is pleased to announce the representation and first solo exhibition of Diné Artist Dakota Mace. DAKOTA MACE Diné Bé' Iiná (The Diné Lifeway)
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