Keró:roks tsi naho’ténhson sewake’nikonhrhèn:’en translates to I am gathering all of the things I had forgotten, in English. This show centres around my connection to the water and land of Tyendinaga and my maternal, Mohawk grandmother. Each piece in the show is a part of remembering. It’s like waking up from a long dream and finding who you’ve always been. The land, the water and my grandmother: each a piece of remembering.
I thought if I spent enough time with water I could access some of the knowledge it has of my ancestors and tell me secrets of the past: remember my great aunt paddling along it, back and forth on her back. Remember our ancestors landing here, remember my mom’s giggles as a child, held tightly in its waves. Remember canoes gently gliding, kissing its surface. I thought it could help me remember these things that I had forgotten but also I could remind her of how much we love and care for her. That we don’t just want to use her, we want to spend intimate moments talking quietly in the dark, breathing close to her, blowing cool air across her surface. I think of her simultaneously like I would my child and my aging grandmother. Rub her head when she’s afraid and listen to her wisdom and bring her tea in exchange for her stories. She is where we come from and where we're going.
