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<\/a>\u201cWhen I got to Victoria, I started going through the collection… and we had acquired a work from Meryl when she was quite a young artist. It\u2019s hung right now in our permanent collection, [so] she was on the radar for me as somebody that the AGGV could be proud of supporting throughout her career who has really gone onto great things,\u201d says McNeil. \u201cIt felt like a natural thing for us to keep working with her and to take this exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a wander to see the exhibit for myself. Bloodlines<\/i>, which is mostly photographs and some videography, is beautifully personal and self-reflective but still remains very relatable. Most of the works feature the artist herself as the subject; they reference her own personal history and the histories of her matrilineal ancestors. Women in her family have struggled and achieved a lot in the face of horrendous colonial systems. A letter written by an ancestor fossilizes this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat letter is such a big part of the show,\u201d says McNeil, \u201cand there\u2019s so much power and grace within that letter, where she ends it by extending an olive branch and saying, \u2018I\u2019ve gone through all of this, I\u2019ve been given nothing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
There are three photographs that reference McMaster\u2019s mixed Scottish\/Indigenous ancestry, where she has Tartan incorporated into her regalia; she went to Newfoundland to take those photos. The geographical beauty is similar to Scotland.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, the message is that in looking to your own past, in thinking of your own inherited trauma and inherited knowledge, it all falls into becoming part of who you are,\u201d says McNeil.<\/p>\n
McNeil says that he hopes the exhibit brings a more nuanced understanding of Indigenous peoples in Canada. He says that McMaster is a great example of somebody who transcends origins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur identities are complex, and we can anchor ourselves anywhere we choose to make a home,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of Canadians can relate to that.\u201d<\/p>\n