Nicholas Galanin, *Things Are Native, Native’s Loooking Whiter,* 2012
giclée
42 x 30 3/4 inches (106.7 x 78.1)

Written by Linh Dinh

Out of 253 galleries present at Miami Art Basel is the Peter Blum Gallery, which is currently exhibiting a solo presentation of work by Nicholas Galanin in Galleries Sector booth F10.

Exploring the intersection of Indigienous identity, representation, and heritage, the Tlingit/Unagax artist’s exhibition is an immersive experience, allowing visitors to ponder about contemporary Indigenous art and culture, as well as reflect upon the history of the nation through a more critical lens.

The most notable work present is undeniably Galanin’s large scale art installation, The Value of Sharpness: When It Falls, available for viewing in the Meridians Sector booth M12. Composed of 60 porcelain hatchets, each carefully suspended mid-air, Galanin juxtaposes the idea of fragility with an image of destruction. In their own words, these are “fragile, decorative representations of powerful tools;” the metaphor of violence and erasure in these hatchets directly speaks to the gradually limiting Indigenous sovereignty in America’s deeply violent colonial past.

At the edge of each porcelain hatchet lies a pronounced layer of gold luster. The glimmering hint at the axes’ fragility as they hang on feeble strings accentuate Galanin’s message: “the power of the hatchets is not in their ability to split wood or bone, but in their ability to shatter.” Detailed Delftware patterns that cover each of the hatchets vests the installation with historical value, telling the history of the 17th century where Dutch appropriations of Chinese and Japanese ceramic motifs were popularised in the Western world. Addressing the topics of erasure and appropriation with this pattern, Galanin nods to the aftermaths of colonialism on the subject of cultural heritage.

Nicholas Galanin, *Never Forget,* 2021
C-print mounted on Dibond, walnut frame
51 3/4 x 78 3/4 inches (131.4 x 200 cm)

In further examining the complexities of colonialism, representation and misappropriation of Indigenous identities, juxtaposition becomes a motif throughout Galanin’s works. In Things Are Looking Native, Natives Are Looking Whiter, the introspective placement of two images – one portraying a Hopi woman wearing her hair in the traditional butterfly whorl style donned by unmarried Hopi women, with a promotional Star Wars image of a Caucasian female in a hairstyle mimicking that of the Indigenous woman on the left. Portraying the manners in which marginalised communities are constantly seeing parts of their identities mocked and appropriated in today’s world further conveys Galanin’s point, in his own words: “consumer culture’s desire to claim ‘Native inspired’ looks, while simultaneously refusing Indigenous people the agency to define Indigenous culture in an increasingly hybrid world.”

Intertwining the ideas of Indigenous representation throughout his body of work, Galanin’s collection and contemporary style asserts the sanctity of land, presence, and culture – all of which are intersecting ideas. By forcing viewers into a space of discomfort where they are bound to raise questions about the disregard of Indigenous people, Galanin’s exploration of themes of resurgence, survival, and adaptation are more prominent than ever.

Nicholas Galanin is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Sitka, Alaska. His works often explore the connection between Native and non-Native communities and the theme of identity, and he is known to speak on matters of environmentalism and colonialism. Earning his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jewelry Design & Silversmithing at London Guildhall University in England, Galanin went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts in Indigenous Visual Arts at Massey University in New Zealand. He has collections internationally, including the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Canada, and many more. Galanin has also received a number of awards and fellowships, such as the 2003 Goldsmiths Commendation of London, the 2020 Open Society Foundation Soros Arts Fellowship, and more.