Mní Kin Wóglake: Shiloh Ashley

Mní Kin Wóglake: Shiloh Ashley

Exhibition runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 5; opening night is 6-9 p.m. Nov. 4.

Step Gallery is located at 605 E. Grant Street, Phoenix.

Mní Kin Wóglake (The Water Speaks) is an exhibition of neon and mixed media works that address ideas of language and identity and how they evolve over time in both use and representation. Here they are employed to examine the foundational element of water as family, place and spirit. The artist chose to address the importance of language revitalization and decolonization through the process of developing a new sacred language from traditional Lakota and colonial English. For example, the neon sculptures of the words Mother and Father begin in English, then are written in Lakota, and finally in the artist’s language. The letters developed by the artist are the result of an exploration into writing, text and how these words are visualized whether in script, print, glyph, or gestural mark making. The English words Water, Plant, Play, Heal and Together were chosen based on their relationship to the values embodied by the artist and are represented as neon sculptures. Water and Healing are represented by a 24’ x12’ neon sculpture of Mníšoše (the Missouri River) rendered in the same stylistic technique applied to the sacred words. Interactive elements within the exhibition include wooden laser-cut puzzles of the words Iná (Mother) and Até (Father) that encourage the viewers to experience the sense of "play, plant, together." Printed key cards that work in tandem with the labels in the space to help the viewer unlock the language of each work. In addition to the phonetic representations, there are also musical scores created with the same process using two sets of glyphs and selected words.

Image courtesy of the artist.