Vanessa Hyggen: ôma askiy âpacihcikâtîw (this land is in use)

Thu, Jun 1, 2028 to Wed, Aug 23, 2028 @ Estevan Art Gallery & Museum

Community: Estevan Art Gallery & Museum

Education Package Condition Report List of Works Care & Handling Press Release

Vanessa Hyggen, Marsh cinquefoil, miyuki beads on pellon, 8" x 8" 2022

This body of work highlights the diversity, beauty, importance and plight of northern Saskatchewan muskegs, land that is being threatened with strip mining. Peat mining involves draining the water out of the muskeg then mulch the cover vegetation (sundews, pitcher plants, Labrador tea, black spruce, birch, willows, alders, cranberries, bunchberries, cloudberries, bog laurel, leatherleaf, and dozens of species of mosses). Muskegs/peatlands are very old landscapes, it takes 10 years for one centimeter of peat to form. It is important to Vanessa’s culture, and to the survival of traditions and knowledge to keep wild areas intact and undisturbed by resource extraction. Many people are unfamiliar with these areas, and this is Vanessa’s way of bringing the muskeg to the public.

Vanessa is a Canadian artist of Woodlands Cree and Norwegian ancestry. She is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and her community is nemepith sipihk (Sucker River). She holds her Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. Vanessa is interested in utilizing memory, tradition and themes of nature in her work. Land conservation and land sovereignty are at the heart of her work, with her painting and beadwork focusing on the richness of the land, and in turn, the threats to the land.

This body of work highlights the diversity, beauty, importance and plight of northern Saskatchewan muskegs, land that is being threatened with strip mining. Peat mining involves draining the water out of the muskeg then mulch the cover vegetation (sundews, pitcher plants, Labrador tea, black spruce, birch, willows, alders, cranberries, bunchberries, cloudberries, bog laurel, leatherleaf, and dozens of species of mosses). Muskegs/peatlands are very old landscapes, it takes 10 years for one centimeter of peat to form. It is important to Vanessa’s culture, and to the survival of traditions and knowledge to keep wild areas intact and undisturbed by resource extraction. Many people are unfamiliar with these areas, and this is Vanessa’s way of bringing the muskeg to the public.

Vanessa is a Canadian artist of Woodlands Cree and Norwegian ancestry. She is a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and her community is nemepith sipihk (Sucker River). She holds her Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. Vanessa is interested in utilizing memory, tradition and themes of nature in her work. Land conservation and land sovereignty are at the heart of her work, with her painting and beadwork focusing on the richness of the land, and in turn, the threats to the land.