Sharon Hunter

Sharon Hunter Artist Bio

I am an artist of mixed Indigenous and settler heritage. My paintings explore the notion of ‘Land’ in physical, philosophical and historical contexts. My work in educational, community-engaged and film/theatre settings informs and reflects my studio practice.

Indigenous land knowledge is very important to me. I sit with Indigenous Elders, knowledge-keepers and community members. They share stories, teachings and images about the land, giving me permission to respectfully explore them in my work.

I am also interested in the settler experience of land – meaning, relationship and control of nature. I live and work in a rural Northern Ontario community, settled around the railroad, farming and industry. Here, as in many other settled places in Canada, it feels like Indigenous land knowledge is overshadowed and hidden by colonialism.

My recent work has visually represented the tension between natural systems and human-imposed structure. Blue City Wolf exemplifies this work: a wolf, penned in by layered, painted lines, is held captive. Here, the concept of ‘taming wilderness’ through constructed space – like that of a city - is evident.

Past work, such as Parallel Route - a three-year Highway 17 mural project – has explored imagery reflective of the histories and stories of the Algoma area where they are located, offering visual food for thought for passers-by. Mississaugi River, one of the murals, exemplifies their typical context, scale and placement.

My current project, ‘Land; Relations’, is supported by a Chalmers Fellowship. This is a multi-faceted project with an immersive research component through which I’ve been investigating colonial conventions of landscape art (and their impact on Canadian artistic identity) as well as local and regional Indigenous teachings and stories relating to the Land.