Métis Artist Creates Work to Shake Audiences

Métis artist Ryan Richard is comfortable with doing things a bit differently. Going against the grain and thinking independently has been a common theme in his life and art.

In his new exhibition at the Gordon Snelgrove Gallery at the University of Saskatchewan (USask), Richard is not only inviting the public to help him construct a large artwork, he’s doing something that would give many artists nightmares – he’s allowing people to walk out of the gallery with part of the art.

“People have the option of taking (the rattles) home, and a lot of them have, which has been a surprise,” said Richard. “A lot of people have actually come back multiple times.”

It’s a rather grand vision that comes from a very personal place with Richard. His new work, titled ᑮᐦᑖᐧᒼ ᐋᐸᒋᐦᑖᐃᐧᐣ – kihtwâm âpacihtâwin – using again/re-purposing, involves an open invite for the public to collaborate on creating rattles, inspired by the sîsîkwan constellation. After the week of community collaboration, the rattles that weren’t taken home will be attached to a kinetic sculpture, called sîsîkwan, which can then be shaken in concert.

For Richard, it comes from his desire to unify across differences.

“To me, it signifies communities. I think what gets lost in Reconciliation is the commonality of us all being people,” he said. “It’s very good for us to be aware of different cultures and respect those who were on the land first, but we have to remember that we’re all just humans.”

The artwork drew inspiration from the sîsîkwan constellation, which is unique to the people of North America and signals the coming of spring. But that theme of springtime, renewal, and repurpose goes even deeper in Richard’s work.

“I think we have too much of a throwaway culture. I think we’re only at the tip of what the consequences will be, long term,” said Richard.

“It’s a big thing in contemporary sculpture right now, to repurpose and reuse things. I want to get people thinking about that, to find ways to repurpose rather than throwing away.”

Richard himself has not only repurposed materials, but skills acquired throughout his life to apply to his art.

From a Métis community in Prince Albert that used to be known as Fox Farm, Richard grew up obsessed with art.

“My mom would say that I was born with a pencil in my hand.”

Richard’s single mother, unable to keep up with the amount of paper her son was using, would go to the former Prince Albert Herald and buy large bolts of newspaper print to roll out on the floor for Richard to doodle on.

Yet, a career in art was something he resisted.

“Throughout my life, it was a pretty consistent theme of people telling me that I would be an artist, and I would say no,” he said.

“It just never interested me. To me, it would be too commercial, that I would be producing art for someone else. And that didn’t appeal to me.”

In his early twenties, Richard said he struggled with addiction, even experiencing homelessness for a few years and going to jail for a short time.

When he was 25, Richard said he decided to turn his life around. He became a tradesman, working with stone and stucco – repairing old stone or matching stucco on homes.

“Looking back, I didn’t realize at the time how artistic that profession was.”

At 36 years old, experiencing physical pain from his job, Richard earned his grade 12 equivalency. He was diagnosed with dyslexia – a common learning disability that causes difficulties reading, spelling, and language processing.

He then enrolled at USask, and bounced around different majors before enrolling in the Saskatchewan Urban Native Teacher Education Program (SUNTEP), with his sights on becoming a math teacher. While in the program, he took a drawing class, and one of his life themes began reoccurring.

“Again, they started calling me an artist. And I was like (no). But eventually I thought, maybe I need to go into art. Now I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Since studying art at USask, Richard said he believes he’s found his place. In his final year of his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Richard has won 12 academic awards, including the Peter Stoicheff Undergrad Indigenous Leadership Award. He plans on pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts this fall.

“It’s increased my self-esteem, and now I’m on the path to reclaiming my language. It’s been an incredible journey.”

Since embracing his artistic calling, Richard has concentrated on multi-media sculpture, finding that the skills he acquired as a tradesperson transfers over seamlessly.

“When I came back to sculpture, I was producing work and firing them, and they were all working out. Which is pretty rare,” he said. “I like to say that clay and I have a close relationship, and I think it’s from all the years of being in the trades.”

From March 2-6, members of the public were invited to the Snelgrove to help Richard create art from discarded materials. The piece currently has over 100 rattles, many made from public participants.

On March 9, Richard will host his artist walk, where the finished work will be displayed, and rattled. But it’s more than just art that Richard is hoping to shake.

“Cross-cultural commonality, I think that’s my real goal. It’s who I am as a person,” said Richard.

“We need more commonality in our world today. We’re far too divided and when we’re divided, I don’t think we can take steps to where we’re making better decisions for us all.”