Jordan Bennett (born 1986) is a multi-disciplinary artist of

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

descent from Stephenville Crossing,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, also known as Ktaqamkuk. He is married to

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

visual artist Amy Malbeuf. Bennett works predominantly with

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

, silkscreening,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, video, installation and sound. Since 2008, Bennett has shown his work both nationally and internationally in over 75 exhibitions, notably ''Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture'', an exhibition co-curated by Kathleen Ritter and

Tania Willard Tania Willard (born 1977) is an Indigenous Canadian multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and curator, known for mixing traditional Indigenous arts practices with contemporary ideas. Willard is from the Secwepemc nation, of the British Co ...

that toured nationally in Canada from 2012–2014.

Education

Bennett earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at

Grenfell Campus Grenfell Campus, formerly Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, is a campus of the Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). It is located in the city of Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The campus has approximately 1,300 students enroll ...

Corner Brook Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

in 2008. He then went on to receive a Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) Degree at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

Okanagan in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in 2016. The focus of Bennett's MFA was to "re-imagin the traditional art forms of the

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of indigenous people who lived on the island of Newfoundland. Beginning around AD 1500, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples w ...

and

Mi’kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the northe ...

into a contemporary art discourse." Bennett was also a participant at the ''Earthline Tattoo Training Residency'' in 2016. He is a member of the

Qalipu First Nation The Qalipu First Nation (Pronounced: ha-lee-boo, meaning: Caribou), is a Mi’kmaq band government, created by order-in-council in 2011 pursuant to the Agreement for the Recognition of the Qalipu Mi’kmaq Band. After the band was approved as a ...

Themes

Bennett's work tends towards interactive and multi-sensory as he incorporates multiple forms of media into his work to create immersive environments for the viewer. These interactive works incorporate a broad range of materials. Main sources of inspiration come from his interactions with

and

porcupine quill designs, baskets, beadwork, clothing, and

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s. Bennett's work engages with themes of land, language, family history, and colonial misinterpretations of Indigenous history and stereotypes in Canada. Bennett's artwork often references urban First Nations youth and culture. jilaqami’g no’shoe, created in 2009, is a skateboard carved into a snowshoe, referencing Indigenous skater culture and traditional practices. In another notable work, ''Turning Tables'' (2010), shown in the touring exhibition ''Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture,'' is a handcrafted mixing table made out of various woods. The record needle plays the sound of the tree's rights. In this work Bennett asserts the continuation of Traditional Knowledge in a digital era. Bennett's focus within his MFA looked at Mi’kmaq and Beothuk visual culture of Ktaqamkuk, which drew inspiration from the drawings of

Shanawdithit Shanawdithit (ca. 1801 – June 6, 1829), also noted as Shawnadithititis, Shawnawdithit, Nancy April and Nancy Shanawdithit, was the last known living member of the Beothuk people, who inhabited Newfoundland, Canada. Remembered for her contr ...

, the last known living member of the Beothuk peoples. He also participates in a collaboration with Amy Malbeuf under the moniker, Neon Kokhom, which is meant to "poke fun at indigenous stereotyping and its role in Canada's lucrative souvenir industry". This collaboration uses humour to address Indigenous misrepresentation

Career

Earthline Tattoo

After completing a tattoo apprenticeship with

Nlaka'pamux The Nlaka'pamux or Nlakapamuk ( ; ), also previously known as the ''Thompson'', ''Thompson River Salish'', ''Thompson Salish'', ''Thompson River Indians'' or ''Thompson River people'', and historically as the ''Klackarpun'', ''Haukamaugh'', ''Kni ...

artist Dion Kaszas, Bennet,

visual artis
Amy Malbeuf
and Kaszas co-founded an Indigenous tattoo collective and residency called Earthline Tattoo, which focuses on the resurgence of Indigenous cultural tattoo practices in Canada. In 2016, they conducted a training residency in which six Indigenous artists were invited to learn tattooing practices connected to Indigenous Traditions. The residency was supported, in part, by the

Initiative for Indigenous Futures In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of Voter registration, registered voters can force a government to choose either to enac ...

and hosted by the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies,

University of British Columbia Okanagan The UBC's Okanagan Campus (commonly referred to as UBC Okanagan and UBCO) is University of British Columbia's campus located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The campus is the research and innovation hub in the province's southern interior ...

Solo exhibitions

2012–2019

*''Ketu' elmita'jik'', Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS (2018-2019) *''Wije'wi (Come with me),'' Estevan Art Gallery, Estevan SK (2018) * ''Wije'wi (Come with me),'' Grenfell Art Gallery, Corner Brook, NL (2017) * ''Herd:Heard'', Regart, Manif 8-La Biennale Quebec, Quebec City. (2017) * ''Mniku'', Vernon Public Art Gallery, Vernon, BC (2016) * ''Billy Jacking'', Gallery 2, Grand Forks, BC (2015) * ''Ice Fishing'', Trinity Square Video, Toronto, ON (2014) * ''Guidelines-The Basket Ladies'', Grenfell Art Gallery, Corner Brook, NL (2014) * ''Horseback or Foot: Flattened and Confused'', Project Space Gallery, RMIT, Melbourne, AUS. (As Neon Kohkom, with Amy Malbeuf) (2014) * ''Jordan Bennett- Shamans and Superheros'', SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, AB (2013) * ''A Glimpse into the World of Neon Kohkom'', SNAP Gallery, Edmonton, AB (As Neon Kohkom) (2013) * ''Skull Stories'', Transmissions Symposium, Concordia University, Montreal, QC (2013) * ''Status'', Performance, Eastern Edge Art Gallery, St.Johns, NL (2012) * ''Skull Stories'', Urban Shaman Gallery, Winnipeg, MB (2012) * ''aboDIGITAL'', Alternator Gallery, Kelowna, BC (2012) * ''How Funny Was it When..,'' Aboriginal Performance Art Symposium- Nippising University, North Bay, Ontario (2012)

Selected group exhibitions

2010–2017

* ''Sans reserve'', Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne, Paris, FR (2017) * ''A Going Concern: Contemporary Textiles And Everyday Politics In Newfoundland And Labrador'', The Rooms, St.Johns, NL (2017) * ''Mi’kmaq Word of the Day'', Eastern Edge Art Gallery, St.John’s, NL (2017) * Transformer: Native art in light and sound, National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian, NYC (2017) * ''ArtSci'', Cape Breton University Art Gallery, Sydney, NS (2017) * ''Art in the Tunnels-From here to there: then and now'', Ottawa, ON (2017) * ''Coyote School'', The McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, ON (2017) * ''Insurgence/Resurgence,'' Winnipeg Art Gallery, MB (2017) * ''Insurgence/Resurgence,'' Winnipeg Art Gallery, MB (As Earthline Tattoo Collective) (2017) * ''Samqwan-Nipiy'' (with Lori Blondeau), Charlottetown, PEI Flotilla presented by AKA Artist Run Centre (2017) * ''Museum of Capitalism'', Oakland, California (2017) * ''Canadian Imago Mundi'', Palazzo Loredan, Campo Santo Stefano, Venice Italy (2017) * ''Shared Lands'', Action Art Actuel, Musée des Abénakis, Odanak, QC. (2017) * ''Boarder X'', The Winnipeg Art Gallery, MB (2016) * ''If We Never Met'', Pataka Museum, Porirua City, NZ (2016) * ''Convergence: space and time in contemporary Indigenous art in Canada'', Canadian Embassy, Ottawa, ON (2016) * ''Aja-sit'', Campbell River Art Gallery, BC (2016) * ''With Secrecy and Despatch'', Campbelltown Art Centre, Campbelltown, NSW, AUS (2016) * ''Culture Shift- Aboriginal Art Biennale'', Art Mur, Montreal, QC (As Neon Kohkom) (2016) * ''The Fifth World'', Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Kitchener, ON (2016) * ''Shared Lands'', Toured Nationally (2013-2016) * ''Under the Surface: 2015 Venice Biennale'', Galleria Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice, Italy (2015) * ''Hip-Hop: From the Bronx to the Arab Streets'', Arab World Institute, Paris, France (2015) * ''The Fifth World- TRIBE Inc'', Mendel Art Gallery, Saskatoon, SK (2015) * ''Atlantic Canada Biennale'', McCain Art Gallery, Florenceville-Bristol, NB (2015) * ''Decolonize Me''- Toured Nationally (2011-2015) * ''Noongwa (Now/Today''), Gallery 101, Ottawa, ON (2014) * ''Storytelling: The Contemporary Native Art Biennial'', 2nd Edition: Art Mur, Montreal, QC (2014) * ''Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation'' Toured Nationally (2012-2014) * ''Changing Tides: Contemporary Art in Newfoundland and'' Labrador, McMichael Art Gallery. Kleinburg, ON (2014) * ''Beat Nation: Art, Hip-Hop and Aboriginal Culture'', Dalhousie Art Gallery and St. Mary’s University Art Gallery, Halifax, NS; Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK (2012- 2014) * ''Bury My Art'', Wounded Knee-Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR (2013) * ''Aboriginal Voice'', Galerie d'art Louise et Reuben-Cohen, Moncton, NB (2013) * ''WANDERLUST'', Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, ON (2012) * ''25 for 25'', The Rooms, St.Johns, NL (2012) * ''L’nuk'' (with Ursula A. Johnson): Anna Leonowens Art Gallery, Halifax, NS (2010-2012) * ''Landwash'' Exhibition-Contemporary Newfoundland Art- Esplande Art Gallery, Medicine Hat, AB (2012) * ''Contrary Projects in Venice: An Aboriginal Art Intervention at the Venice Biennale 2011'', Venice, Italy (2011) * ''50-500 Members Show'', Urban Shaman Gallery, Winnipeg, MB (2011) * ''Problem Child'' -Group Exhibition, The Rooms, St.Johns, NL (2011) * ''ACTING-out'', Claiming Space: Aboriginal Performance Art Series, Modern Fuel Artist Run Centre, Kingston, OM. (2011) * ''RE:counting coup'', A Space Gallery, Toronto, On (2010) * ''Red Runners,'' The new objectification of Native Art and Identity- Group Exhibition, Well and Good Gallery, Toronto, ON (2010) * ''Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada'', TRC, The Forks Plaza, Winnipeg, MB (2010) * ''The 1 of 1 Project'', Sk8 Skates, Winnipeg, MB (2010) 2006–2009 * ''Vancouver 2010 Aboriginal Art Exhibition'', Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC * ''All Nighters'', Graduate Show, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College Art Gallery, Corner Brook, NL * ''Defining Moments'', Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Yukon. * ''Art in a Suitcase'', Relais de la Baie, Noyelle, France. * ''Harlow Campus Exhibition'', Harlow Campus Trust, Old Harlow, Essex, England.

Selected screenings

* ''Ice Fishing,'' (Film World premiere) imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival- Toronto, ON (2015) * ''Guidelines, The Basket Ladies'' (Film World premiere) imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival- Toronto, ON (2013)

Selected awards and grants

* Reveal Award, Hnatyshan Foundation, 2017 * Aboriginal Peoples Collaborative Exchange,

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

, 2017 * Aboriginal/Inuit Traditional Visual Art Forms Grant, Canada Council for the Arts, 2017 * Sobey Art Award- Long list, 2016 * Canada Graduate Scholarships, Master’s (CGS M),

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada, CRSH) is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and traini ...

, 2015 * Aboriginal Graduate Scholarship, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 2015 *

Sobey Art Award The Sobey Art Award is Canada's largest prize for young Canadian artists. It is named after Canadian businessperson and art collector Frank H. Sobey, who established The Sobey Art Foundation. It is an annual prize given to an artist 40 and under wh ...

, Long list, 2015 * Aboriginal Graduate Scholarship, University of British Columbia Okanagan, 2014 * Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies Graduate Scholarship, 2014 *

Graduate Fellowship, 2014 * Indspire Award, Graduate Studies, 2014 *

ARTINFO Louise Blouin Media is an art magazine and book publishing company based in New York City. Founded by Louise Blouin,. Archived March 18, 2006. it publishes the magazines ''Art+Auction'', ''Gallery Guide'' and ''Modern Painters''. It owns , a Fre ...

30 under 30, Blouin Artinfo Canada, 2014 * Artist of the Year Award, Newfoundland And Labrador Arts Council, 2014 *

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

/ imagineNATIVE Interactive Digital Project 2014 * Hnatyshyn Foundation: Charles Pacther Prize for Emerging Artists, 2012 * Emerging Artist of the Year Award, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council, 2012 * Large Year Award, Excellence in Visual Arts Newfoundland, 2012 * Production Grant, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council., 2014, 2011, 2009 * Professional Artist Production Grant, Canada Council for the Arts, 2011 * Emerging Artist of the Year Award, Corner Brook Sustainability Awards, 2011 * Memorial University Medallion for Academic Excellence in Visual Arts, 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jordan Living people 1986 births 21st-century First Nations people Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador First Nations artists Mi'kmaq people Qalipu First Nation