Glooscap

Second Place

The bulk of my M.Ed. was centred around imagery and my imagery is centred around the Wolastoqey story, Glooscap and the Giant Beaver. This is a story that had been transferred orally for over 300 generations and it wasn’t up until the last 100 or so years it fell silent. The story itself is coming back to life visually and hopefully, the art of oral storytelling is not too far behind. This particular image of Glooscap, the cultural hero of the Wolastoqiyik, who was responsible for taming many large beats and shaping the landscapes.  The image of Glooscap has many references to clothing that can be affiliated with Wolastoqiyik, from the Chief's headpiece to the small purple flower designs. Much research went into each component and if you haven’t heard about Glooscap and the giant Beaver or the ice dam at the mouth of the Wolastoq (St.John River) some 12,000 years ago, then have a google to delve into the connectedness of the story and living memory. My image shows the transition from my initial pencil sketched to the my hand drawn digital reproduction. Keep an eye out in June 2023 for the Fredericton airport reveal.