Tracey-Mae Chambers will create a site-specific textile installation in the 3-storey stairwell of the VAC building, visible from Victoria Avenue. The installation is crocheted, knit and woven with red wool, silk and cotton yarn. For Chambers, 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.
Working in fibre and sculpture, Ontario-based Métis artist Tracey-Mae Chambers has created over 150 installations since July 2021 at residential school historical sites, museums, galleries and other public spaces, many of which serve to present a colonial viewpoint that primarily speaks about the settlers who arrived and live here, but not the Indigenous people who were displaced along the way. Through her work the artist hopes to bridge the gap between settlers and First Nations, Métis and Inuit people by starting a conversation about decolonization and reconciliation.
