Hope and Healing in Canada

Explore a unique outdoor art display on the grounds of Lambton Heritage Museum! This special installation, created by Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers, is a part of her powerful Hope and Healing in Canada series. Chambers has shared her work in dozens of locations, including the Judith & Norman Alix Art Gallery. Her installations are meant to make us think about hope, healing, and the connections we share with each other and with our history. The following is her artist statement about her work:

I grew up as a stranger to my own story; adopted and re-named, grafted into a new family tree. The discovery in adulthood of my Métis heritage was a revelation that set me on a path of discovery. I often work in the powerful tradition of the vessel as metaphor for individuals; we fill and re-fill ourselves throughout life to create our own story. My developing story as an indigenous heritage woman and her quest for harmony with the natural world. I am a proud member of the Métis Nation of Ontario. My ancestors are from the Drummond Island community as well as Mackinac Island.

Since July 2021 I have created over 100 installations at residential school historical sites, museums, art galleries and other public spaces. Many of these spaces serve to present a colonial viewpoint and primarily speak about the settlers who arrived and lived here, but not the Indigenous people that were displaced along the way. The installations are constructed with red wool, silk, cotton yarn that has been crocheted, knit or woven.

Red is the colour of blood. Red is the slur against Indigenous people. Red is the colour of passion and anger, danger and power, courage, and love.

I am hoping to bridge the gap between settlers and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people by creating art that is approachable and non-confrontational and starting a conversation about decolonization and reconciliation.