Pitut – Figuring out who someone is
Created by Tyrone Elliot
In thinking about the prompt for this exhibition, “Representation Matters,” Tyrone’s mind immediately turned to the canon surrounding Indigenous Futurisms*. What does an Indigenous future look like? Much of the existing artwork surrounding the line of thought involves sci-fi elements, and so Tyrone thought to weave a fashion forward outfit for a shiny, metallic, alien-esque mannequin.
Throughout weaving the project, Tyrone began to think more deeply about the prompt, “Representation Matters,” and artwork regarding Indigenous futurisms. He thought that perhaps the retro sci-fi feel of the body of artwork represented a lack of representation and a retrospective insertion into the genre, on the terms of Indigenous artists. Popular topics of insertion include kinship ties, reclamation of the land and body, and an attempt to undo the exclusion inherent in the sci-fi genre.
The finished project, Pitut, is a representation of Tyrone figuring out who he is. He is a Cedar weaver of 20 years, and with that comes a lot of accountability to the land, to his Nations, and to himself. Tyrone actively studies weaving, particularly the specific techniques and intricacies of his Ancestors. His weaving also takes on certain aspects of the ways in which his mind works. Having lived with untreated ADHD for 26 years, Tyrone’s patterns and colour choices are inherently intuition based. He also grew up admiring the futuristic feel of sci-fi shows and movies and so creating a mannequin with Cedar woven attire was a natural choice.
However, back to the question of “what does an Indigenous future look like,” and particularly, what does it look like with proper representation? From Tyrone’s perspective, proper representation in an Indigenous future would be Indigenous people representing their own Nations to the best of their ability, a reclamation of land, laws, and bodies, a return to land-based Teachings and practices, mutual aid, and the nullification of the gender binary.
Pitut, therefore, is a partial representation of these views. Tyrone is representing his Nations’ weaving styles to the best of his ability and actively increasing his knowledge of his Ancestor’s styles, Cedar harvesting is inherently a reclamation of land and, with proper Teachings, of a land-based practice, Tyrone follows Indigenous and Natural law when harvesting, and Pitut has not been assigned a gender based on physical attributes. However, by being chosen for their retro sci-fi “feel,” Pitut is inherently a response to colonialism and not a return to Decolonial modes of thought. In other words, Pitut has been Indigenized but not Decolonized, another way in which Pitut represents Tyrone figuring out who he is.
*It is important to note that the body of work that is “Indigenous Futurisms” is derived from the work of Afrofuturism thinkers, educators, scholars and artists
About the Artist
Tyrone Elliott, Ancestral name Tiwuxiwulh, is a Cedar bark weaver from Snuneymuxw' and Quw'utsun. He has resided on Lekwungen territory for the past 3 years. Taught to weave by his Mother, Violet Elliott, from a very young age, Tyrone has over 20 years working with Cedar bark and other natural materials. He is currently reclaiming his language, Hul'q'umi'num, and incorporating it into his Work as he learns. Much of the Teachings that Tyrone has incorporated into his life have been derived from Cedar weaving, harvesting and other land-based Teachings. In co-facilitating with his mother, and eventually facilitating his own workshops, Tyrone's aim has been to impart a loving connection with Cedar and the land, and also to convey how Indigenous Laws derive and correlate with and from land based Teaching such as Cedar weaving.
Hay ch q'u.
Tyrone
“Representing my Indigineity means incorporating the land I belong to, that my Ancestors belong to, into my art. Whether it’s weaving, visual art, or any of my other practices, the land, and the peoples of the land I am Indigenous to, inform my every piece, movement, stroke, and thought.”