Marie Watt: "Forget-Me-Not: Mothers and Sons" at the Museum at Tamastlikt Cultural Institute

May 14 - July 9, 2010

In regard to her large-scale installation, Marie Watt, Seneca artist, states, "Forget-me-not is about memory, story, and devotion. In part, it stems from my disinclination toward the abstraction of war by the modern media." The Iroquois concept of “mother” is broad, extending from one’s mother through a long line of women. She views Forget-Me-Not as a continuing dialog. "I asked the men I know to suggest women who were significant to them to include in this work." Forget-Me-Not consists of weblike constructions of portraits of soldiering sons and their mothers. "Some of these women were mothers in the physical sense; others gave to our culture in other ways." Ms. Watt's work draws from indigenous design principles and oral tradition. She uses a vocabulary of natural materials (stone, wool, cedar, cornhusks,) and forms (blankets, pillows, bridges) that are universal to human experience. Her large-scale works bring about an intimate focus.

More information about the exhibit at http://www.tamastslikt.org/exhibits.cfm