The Stand-Off
The Stand-Off is a 2 channel video installation that remixes contemporary news media in Canadian culture with sampled clips taken from classic Western movies and Cowboys and Indians films. The majority of the footage was taken from the Internet, and focuses on the Caledonia Land Dispute that erupted last year in Ontario. Having grown up in that region surrounding the Ohsweken reservation I felt particularly close to the subject matter. In a way, the Stand-off is a way for me to show support to my sisters and brothers who were on the front lines during the struggle. And from another perspective, this project is a reminder of all the struggles our people have been through throughout history – let us never forget . . .
The projected image features a stylized version of myself melodically beating a Pow Wow drum, flanked on both sides by two red bars that reference the Canadian flag. With each strike of the drum new images appear on its surface, as a constant flow of text (headlines from the Caledonia Dispute taken from the media) bombards the screen obscuring and revealing different elements of the image. The overall effect is one of chaos, and confusion, as each of the two drummers in the opposing video projections fall in and out of sequence, and different audio/video media flood the screen.