TANIA LARSSON
“My work comes from the land.”
Artist Statement
I design contemporary, northern indigenous adornment based on Gwich’in culture, created with land-based materials. I make these adornments with my people in mind, and by wearing my works; they will feel connected to our ancestors, our land, and our culture. As recently as the latter part of the 19th Century, we were stripped of our adornments because of their connection to shamanistic practices. Before this time we lived nomadically, dependent on the caribou. My indigenous audience will feel a connection to my work through the inherent knowledge and aesthetic contained in blood-memory. This art will be central in creating an evolving, northern indigenous aesthetic that will allow us to pair them with our grandmothers’ moccasins and our grandfathers’ wolverine fur-trimmed parkas, reclaiming and revitalizing these traditional pieces in a contemporary fashion. I welcome an audience who wears jewelry to make a statement; and who appreciates high quality craftmanship.
My studio practice starts on the land. Most of the materials I use have been harvested from nature through subsistence hunting, in which the moose, the muskox or the caribou meat is shared in the community. I use the skin, the brains and a leg bone to make brain tanned hides. This process requires a lot of physical work that takes two to three weeks. Once the hide is finished, I create a pattern that is based in traditional techniques and designs passed down through generations in our Gwich’in tribe. I use antique and vintage beads to decorate the hide, creating colorful and intricate designs. Another part of the animal that I use is the hair of the moose and caribou. I dye it before sewing it down on hide to create a tuft. Finally, I use the horns and antlers, cutting, shaping and, polishing them to use in my jewelry. I incorporate these natural elements with silver, gold and precious stones to create a striking contrast of textures, color and materials. We are taught to use every part of the animal when we hunt, and it is crucial for me to incorporate that part of my culture in my studio practice.
