Decoding Michael Belmore at Daphne Art Centre

The non-profit, Indigenous artist-run centre and gallery daphne presents Micheal Belmore: bzaan-yaa / en silence, immobile / be quiet, be still, on display from January 17th to April 12th. 2025. 

Walker, Rebekah. Micheal Belmores Bridge, 2023. Personal photograph. February 2025.

The gallery opens with a suspended sculptural installation; the snow fencing, made of wire and wood, undulates across the space and is bathed in the light from the nearby window. Inviting you to engage with the space, walk around the object and immerse yourself in the gallery, this installation guides you towards the 10 framed prints that occupy the two following walls. A large mat and golden edge frame each square print, effectively using negative space to draw focus inwards towards the work. In encountering the works within the space, a meditative experience is created, slowing down time and focusing singularly on each image. The frames hold images of rocky shores that have been manipulated by Belmore, who has filled in the cracks of the rocks with brilliant copper foil. These images are subject to a secret code, the key to which is foiled onto the wall near these frames. The code was created by Belmore, which converts Ascii code into a mnemonic device that can be deciphered through groupings of ones and zeroes. The code transfers into the suspended sculptural installation as well; you can find it in the patterns between the wooden slats and wire. Another sculpture occupies the final wall, made of wood and protruding directly from the wall into the space. Grounding the entire space is a ring of rectangular, mismatched stones lying on the floor. Creating the shape of a sun, the interior sides of the grey slabs of stone are copper-foiled, a continuation of the foiled images on the walls above. 

The themes of Micheal Belmore’s work at daphne are Indigeneity, land, and language. Belmore is an Anishinaabe artist whose relationship with his culture is evident across his practice. He states that while his art may seem disjointed to some, his “work and processes speak about the environment, about land, about water, and well, what it is to be Anishinaabe.” This is visualised through his use of materials, which vary from stone, copper, wood, wire, and paper. Each material is an invitation to slow down and focus on process. This premise is anti-colonial as it pushes back against the ongoing urgency and pressure created by the neoliberal state. He believes that every material has a voice and, through his process, gives them agency which, by extension, gives agency to the land from which they originate.. Giving voice to the land is a powerful tool in fighting against land ownership and for Indigenous repatriation, as it neglects the notion that land is merely soil to be claimed, traded, and sold. Belmores uses the shoreline and snow fence to exhibit liminal border spaces in the landscape. Instead of drawing borders between properties, he is animating the fluid borders between the elements, which are layered in the Anishnaabe worldview. Belmore is reintegrating this worldview into the landscape, both physically and artistically. 

Belmore’s blending of language and material is working to repair the loss of the Anishinaabe language and culture due to settler colonialism in North America. By creating his code, which translates Ascii computer code into Anishinaabemowin characters, Belmore brings the language back into mainstream spaces and culture. This creates an opportunity to learn from the artwork, as it offers a practical and interactive use of language. The secret message is also inaccessible to those who do not read the Anishinaabemowin language, making this artwork only accessible to specific individuals. This counteracts the esoteric landscape of larger museum institutions with secrets of their own. The primary difference is the welcoming, open community that exists at daphne. The people there are willing to talk, teach, and appreciate the artwork with the visitors. 

A meditative and reflective mood accompanies these themes. This is encouraged by the gallery, which has led a meditative event in the gallery space. The artist talk with Belmore, held on January 18th, 2025, was accompanied by a guided meditation titled daphne breathes, facilitated by Lauren Karonhiaronkwas McComber. This type of event challenges the way that gallery spaces are used by inviting care and community into an oftentimes uncomfortable space. This event and exhibition ultimately uphold daphne’s mandate to “advance a culture of peace”. bzaan-yaa / en silence, immobile / be quiet, be still.