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Item Name: Mixed Media
Title: Buffalo Stars and Nipples on a Nickle
Maker: Edward Poitras
Year: 2004
Country: Canadian
Materials: acrylic, buffalo fur, archival tape
Measurements: overall: 165 cm x 136 cm
ID Number: PC2005.4
Legal Status: PERMANENT COLLECTION


Extended Label Info: This highly textured painting incorporates buffalo fur to create a pattern reminiscent of an aerial view of the prairie in Winter. As an installation artist, Poitras often combines found objects with art materials. His work explores themes including history, treaties, the effects of colonialism, and life in urban spaces and on the reserve. Historically, the buffalo were an important food source for the Indigenous people of the Plains, and feature in the stories, rituals, dances, and prayers of these peoples. In many stories, the buffalo gave themselves up willingly as a food source for humans, and therefore have a special position of honor and respect. Edward Poitras is a Métis artist. Born in Regina in 1953, he is member of the Gordon First Nation, and a resident of Treaty Four Territory. He studied with Sarain Stump at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College in Saskatoon (1974), and with Mexican Aboriginal artist Domingo Cisneros at Manitou College, Québec(1975-1976). A recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, Poitras has exhibited internationally, notably representing Canada in 1995 at the Venice Biennale. His work is held in numerous public, private and corporate collections across Canada, including the MacKenzie Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.