CAROLINE MONNET Where The Sky Begins
Nunu Fine Art New York is pleased to announce, Where the Sky Begins, the first solo exhibition of Montreal-based artist Caroline Monnet with the gallery. This collection of textiles works on paper, and wall-based and wearable sculptures draws on Monnet’s (b.1985) Anishinaabe and French heritage to explore the complex interplay of these cultures in both the past and present, while envisioning a radically reshaped future.
The artist, who also has a prolific career in filmmaking, often works with industrial, chemically derived products involved in construction, such as Tyvek, polyethylene, cement, Plexiglas, insulation, and polystyrene foam. Her work addresses the impact of colonialism on the Indigenous communities of Canada, particularly in regard to government-imposed subpar housing and its consequences on the spiritual, economic, and physical wellbeing of generations of First Nations inhabitants. While Monnet transforms the materials underpinning modern life to appear organic or poetic, these aesthetic choices are part of a conscious process of reappropriation to materialize profound reflections on our relationship with land.
In a new series of embroideries on Air Barrier Membrane, Roof Underlayment, and polyethylene and mineral wool, Monnet depicts dynamic, geometric shapes inspired by traditional Anishinaabe patterns. These motifs echo the scarring left on Anishinaabe ancestral land, left by Canadian settlers and seigneuries. By inscribing the patterns of her ancestors in synthetic, durable substrates, the artist both calls attention to the environmental degradation brought on by land development and underscores the endurance of her culture’s visual language. Monnet contrasts western and Indigenous epistemologies in her choice of materials, magnifying them and infusing them with new meanings. Distancing themselves from a posture of oppression, these works embody the past, present and future, crystallizing a vibrant homage to Anishinaabe tradition and Indigenous resurgence.
The wearable sculptures, also referred to by the artist as “living sculptures”, were shown in the Fashioning Indigenous Futurism Runway Show at the Getty Center in Los Angeles in September 2024, and will make their New York debut in this exhibition. This body of work further condemns the impact of poor-quality housing on the social and political development of Canada’s Indigenous communities, while evoking a resilient Indigenous future that breaks free from the colonial gaze. Monnet commemorates her ancestors while foregrounding the responsibility she feels to create limitless possibilities for the next generations.
Caroline Monnet seeks to upend the historical, hierarchical relationship between the Indigenous peoples and perspectives, colonialism, and industry.