Annikeooek/Neguac
Not being located in the right place
Artists
Mario Cyr
Jaime Patles
Neguac
At the borders of the Peninsula.
Link with the Miramichi.
Gateway towards the Mi’kmaqs of Esginoo o putich.
Alliance with the Tabusintac.
Like a mantra: Nigaweck, Nigawniek, Negayak, Neguaak, Negowak, Neguwack.
And Annikeooek, Anigeog which means not well situated or Annie wanders by herself.
Or also, woman or infertile land.
So much futile version.
And yet, Neguac, fertile land and woman carrying life.
Region who waves up to the ocean.
There was Richard Denys de Fronsac and his Fort of four bastions in the surroundings of Pointe à la Croix.
And the river of hideouts where the five Savoie brothers settled in.
There was Otho Robichaud, first judge of peace in Acadie.
Guard the island of hay, named French island by the Mi’kmaqs.
Already full of winkles for the cod
Now Provincial Park and sanctuary for the birds.
The rustle in the multicoloured trees charms.
The tall birches stand out on the top of the sky like queens in exile.
At the edge of the salt marsh and of the hay of meadow.
Néguac, omnipresence of the nourishing sea.
The beech grove of Beausoleil and the oysters.
Néguac founded the hinterland, Fair Isle, Lagacéville, Lavillette...
Which to the rhythm of the centuries lived in peace with the Mi’kmaqs Up to the tensions of the lobster claws...
But lately, back to the beginning; hope of sharing and of harmony.
Not to wander by herself anymore and carry life again.
Mario Cyr
Moncton, N.B.
Originally from Rivière à la truite, Mario Cyr lives in Moncton. An engineer by training and an accomplished artist, he has been creating and living from his art for over 23 years. He has worked in the craft industry for 12 years and has won awards of excellence at the Atlantic and national levels. He has been painting since 1997 and has had more than twenty solo exhibitions and many group exhibitions. He has given more than a hundred creative performances before the public in Canada, France and Romania. His main work, a project that has been in evolution for over 5 years, is a relational art piece entitled Le Parloir.
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The work he created for the exhibition Irréductibles racines is inspired by the Mi'kmaq origin of the name "Neguac".
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"A few seeds were stranded on land that was too poor to support their growth. They bonded together and took root in the sand. A great white wave protects them from fire and predators."
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Jaime Patles
First Nation
Natoaganeg, N.B.
Jamie Patles is from Natoaganeg First Nation in New Brunswick. She has been drawing, painting, creating and being interested in art since she could hold a pencil.
She studied interior design at the Interior Design Institute in Montreal in 2003 and 2004.
Her work represents a teepee, which she wanted to show that each tribe has its own style of housing. Originally, the Mi'kmaq built wigwams in a conical shape, but during the seventeenth century, they began to build in a different way.
This type of tipi was built by juxtaposing strips of birch bark that were then sewn together with spruce roots. The door of the tipi faced east to receive the morning light. A small place for a stone fireplace was set aside in the centre of the tepee and the smoke escaped through an opening at the top.
The Mi'kmaq were nomadic and this style of tipi was very suitable for their trips because it was made of light materials, and could be easily built and dismantled.
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In the context of the exhibition Irréductibles racines, the artist is associated with the name "Neguac".