Joey Big Snake
ARTWORKS & PROJECTS
A Midnight Prayer
Joey Big Snake, Julia Borden, Kayla Calf Big Snake
projection work
2021-2022
This work envelopes the viewer into a moment of Blackfoot prayer. Surrounded by the night sky that is reminiscent of being out on the reserve, while light wind and a dim fire is sounding off in the distance. A common Blackfoot prayer will be told in the midst of the night, there will be a English and Blackfoot translation in text from, likely in subtitles. After the prayer, everything goes quiet, and we are back.
A Midnight Prayer challenges ideas of translation and appropriation. And to someone familiar, it evokes a sense of familiarity. I want to emulate aspects of native storytelling through the live digital medium, being inspired by the ethereal qualities that are ingrained inside Blackfoot stories when they are told.
Eli & Wax Tipi [ver. 1]
2 printed works
2022
'Eli' or Sheldon Arrowhead was a BLACKFOOT chicken dancer who danced when Indigenous ceremonies were outlawed in Alberta and onwards. He was born in 1936 and attended residential school for most of his youth. At age 20 he returned home, Picking up chicken dancing again
As much as he tried, he was never considered in prestigious 'The Seven', yet he gained a following in the local reservation of Siksika. He danced until 2008 at 82 when he passed away in Cluny.
Why he's so Important is because he's the first Blackfoot to have worked with the curation of an exhibition at the SFMOMA when they held their first Indigenous art show. One of his works shown there was the famous Indigenous artwork 'Wax Tipi'
He had danced at the ceremony when the red paper was being protested against the Canadian
The aim of this project is to look into how algorithms process a unique genuine-feeling Indigenous identity. This project took over 50-100 image and story generations to create something that felt real to a Indigenous story. There was a lot of instances where I would have to teach or compensate for some of the aspects of the story, such as switching traditional chicken dancing to break dancing.
Sky Plains
digital painting
2021
A digital artwork that was made for IndigeSTEAM. The main focus was heaven/sky/stars.
Tipi Installation
interactive installation w/ 3d printed tipis
2019
An interactive work that involves the viewer. It is a light sensor that activates the work in the dark.
Morningstar (VENUS RISEN)
10 ft x 8 ft banner
2021
A work made for Telus SPARK for the Venus exhibition that was in Spring/Summer 2021. It is currently still at the Spark Science center.
​
This work was a collaborative effort between Telus Spark and elder Casey Eagle Speaker. This work would not be possible without the stories and guidance of Elder Casey.
GUNNY GHOST (no costume)
digital artwork
2020
A digital artwork that plays with ideas of old fashion cartoons and mascot media, while injecting aspects of indigenous history and culture.
BACKGROUND! 02
digital artwork
2021
An artwork made for Telus Spark for there An Evening of Indigenous Storytelling event that was on November 5, 2021.
Main ideas were of urban indigenous culture and living.
© 2022 by Joey Big Snake. Proudly created with Wix.com