Louis
was born July 8, 1962 in the town of Sioux Lookout, Ontario. Louis
is an Anishinaabe of the Ojibway's of Lac Seul First Nation, Ontario.
He attended the Cecilia Jeffery Residential School in Kenora, Ontario
in the late sixties and early seventies.
Louis
graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons. Degree) from the
University of Manitoba. Louis works in a variety of mediums which includes
painting, photography and theatre. In addition, Louis has been documenting
on video the process of the exhibition with interviews from his family
regarding their reflection of their experiences, in which he hopes will
expand on the discourse of this subject.
Contemporary
artist Louis Ogemah, gathers old and new photograph images of four generations
of the Ogemah/Williams family and pictorially depicts the relationship
each generation had with the residential school system.
From
rustic settings to urban living, Louis' work explores the myriad of
Anishinaabe beliefs and mysticism and couples it with contemporary thought
to bring new depth to his work.
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Manido
Giizis (Buffalo)
Oil
on canvas - 108cm x 144cm
Manido
Giizis, is about a sundancer fulfilling his commitment to the
Great Mystery, and his self-sacrifice to his Manidouk (Spirit
Guide), the Great Bison. In the personal realm one must bring
about the empowerment of self through the individual oneself to
the Creative Force that surrounds us. The painting technique encapsulates
on the ochres and earth tone colors and invokes the mystic to
come through.
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Piitiwewe
Nodin (Red & Blue)
Acrylic on canvas - 120cm x 114cm
A
self-portrait of my inner being is embodied within this work.
My anishinsabe name is Kiizhe Anaquot, meaning Fast Cloud. There
are two levels, the first level is the blue sky which is my connection
to the spirits of the sky world, from my name sake, and the physical
skyline of a city on the prairies. The second level, describes
several layers of my inner psyche. On the one side a visionary,
with the arrow head neck piece drawn in pencil and on the other
side is a scaffold with the spirit of an ancestor on birch bark
rising up into the spirit world, translating into my commitment
to my people who have passed on.
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Ziisabaquot
Oil on canvas - 2' x 2'10'
Ziisabaquot
means 'sugar' in Anishinaabe and refers to the spirit of a lost
child. The shield is a personal shield that carries the medicine
pouch and eagle feathers in respecting the spirit of the child
that has gone to the spirit world.
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