black ground; Pointillist style; symmetrical design of plants, insects, birds, and amphibians in bright colors

%C2%A9 Christi Belcourt

It's a Delicate Balance, 2021

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For most Indigenous communities, all life— plants, animals, insects, microbes— are kin, and to be treated with respect and care. Most of the living beings that Belcourt depicts here are currently threatened, endangered, or at the edge of extinction in Mia’s backyard, the Upper Midwest. Each of these species is critical for the balance of our ecosystem, interconnected to all of life, including humanity.

Belcourt paints these creatures as if she were beading them on hide, starting at the bottom and drawing upon designs and motifs found Michif beadwork. Each dot is painted individually, representing a single bead. The composition of the painting is a seamless whole. Blossoming flowers and wisps of greenery are intricately outlined in the color palette and style of Michif floral imagery, a part of an aesthetic system and of way of life made possible through careful observation of the natural world.

Details
Title
It's a Delicate Balance
Artist Life
Métis, born 1966
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2021.30
Curator Approved

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black ground; Pointillist style; symmetrical design of plants, insects, birds, and amphibians in bright colors

© Christi Belcourt

Because of © restrictions, we can only show you a small image of this artwork. (You'll have to come see it in person.)