Powless Cultural Center

By Ojibwe, Norwegian artist Shaun Chosa at Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center, 212 W. Second St., Duluth, Minnesota. Photos taken June 2021.
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Rainbow Warrior - Painted after a sepia tone Curtis photo, I love these works but I reinterpret with more colors. The title is a play on words and the name of an ocean going boat that fights for sea going life, etc. My titles are littered with allusions and direct references or stereotypes.

Water Protector - Painted after a photograph of Autumn Peltier, Ojibwe water activist, spokesperson for the people and enviornment. A role model. One of our people across the border to the north.

Brings the Storm - Another Portrait reinterpreted with color. The orange birds are iconic symbols in my work, it's part of my lexicon, I suppose. Symbols, coded language. They represent the birds fleeing before the coming storm, and in that storm often come the Thunderbeings.

Survivor II - This painting was painted and its about the MMIWG issue that is plaguing our people, that is the obvious theme. The red hand print, a war horse decoration that has been swapped in t symbolize the issue. I stopped at some point wanting to keep the image more accessible. The white spots on the dress are usually shells or caribou teeth. Here I imagine them as skulls originally and metaphorically still do, each skull..a life lost or missing. Skulls are metaphorical devices, not evil just representative of death, and both immortality/mortality. The woman has streaks of gray in her hair, she has faced stress, has the wisdom of years and carries with her the memory of those missing, enslaved, killed and lost. She is a Survior." - Shaun Chosa
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2022 video (9 min) https://youtu.be/TMuh7eoNFMo
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Artist website: https://shaunchosa.com