Creator Take Us Home and Matriarchs in the Making presented on twenty transit-shelter posters throughout the city from August 14 - September 24, 2023.
“We are people of oral history; our weavings are documents of our living culture. As weavers, we are taught that our weavings hold the knowledge, pass on teachings, affirm laws and are living documents of our history. Weavings also demonstrate community wealth and wellness by passing down these teachings through family lineage." Caitlin Aleck (Te-Awk-Tenaw)
Caitlin Aleck’s 2 weavings relate to lineage, trauma and hope. Creator Take Us Home centres on the recent unearthing of the unmarked graves found on the grounds of Residential Schools across Canada. The piece is meant to reflect on the pain of the children, and the attempt by various levels of government to hide these widespread deaths. Elements of the weaving show the spirits of these young people travelling in their canoes, back to the creator. As Caitlin states, “While they are safe now, we continue to pray for them in ceremony and seek justice for their death.”
Matriarchs in the Making looks at the centrality of the matriarchal tradition in Caitlin’s family and Nation. This complex and colour-rich piece is dense with meaning and acts almost like a map or guide to the strong teachings and expectations in becoming a family matriarch. Each element, each colour and their individual placement in relation to each other speak about who watches over and cares though they are no longer here, who watches over and cares in our current day-to-day lives, and planting the seeds for future care by those just or not yet born. Parts of this weaving are private or unknowable for Caitlin, but like so much of her work, her deep emotional response to both the act of weaving and the narratives they contain comes through in her compositions.