Tree (2006) and other works

Overview

Shelley Niro’s practice challenges the clichéd perceptions and circumscribed expectations projected onto First Nations communities. The protagonist of the film Tree (2006) is a young Indigenous woman personifying Mother Earth who, dismayed at the exploitation of the planet, vows to return and start anew. For Fearless and Other Indians (1998) comprises a series of prints mounted on a decorated mat, depicting the Statue of Liberty from a variety of angles and vantage points. Each image is inscribed with graffiti-like white lettering challenging the figure’s monumental status. Here, Niro appropriates the kitschy trappings of American tourism and turns it against itself.