Sharifah Marsden - Miigwetch
By Peter Lattimer
Posted in News, on May 19, 2015
Lattimer Gallery has been carrying the jewellery and paintings of Sharifah Marsden for six years. Sharifah is an Anishinaabe artist from the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation in Ontario who has been living in Vancouver for the past fifteen years, and she strives to fuse her cultural roots with Northwest Coast forms. As her first solo show,Sharifah Marsden - Miigwetch features jewellery pieces created over the past two years during the artist’s studies at the Vancouver Metal Arts School. The word 'miigwetch' means 'thank you' in the Ojibwe language. Under the instruction of European goldsmith Gerold Mueller, Sharifah has learned hollow form jewellery design and stone-setting, processes she has added to her existing arsenal of hand-engraving techniques.
Throughout the 15 years I have lived in Vancouver, I have been active in the Native arts community, working in Native art galleries, attending Native arts programs, and connecting with other First Nations artists. The strong influence of Northwest Coast formline has influenced how I have chosen to develop my personal style, and my artistic practice. As I studied and was witness to the creations of the Northwest Coast, I was forced to analyze my own art, in the Anishinaabe style. Through the development of my own style, while living and growing here, I came to create my own sense of formline, within the Anishinaabe tradition. - Sharifah Marsden
This small exhibition will run between April 25th - May 16th, 2015 and an online preview will be available as of April 18th. Please join us for the opening and artist reception on April 25th between 4pm-6pm. Sharifah will be in attendance for this event, and refreshments will be provided.