New sculptures by Indigenous artists unveiled at site of historic Canadian battlefield

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The permanent sculptures by Chief 7IDANsuu James Hart and Wendat Nation artist Ludovic Boney were unveiled in Québec City’s Cap Diamant on Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

On Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (30 September), two new works by Indigenous artists have been unveiled in Québec City’s Cap Diamant, the historic site of the famous Battle of the Plains of Abraham. In 1759, the troops of British General James Wolfe climbed the cliffside overlooking the St Lawrence River to take Quebec from the French troops lead by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. Both generals died in battle, and centuries of “the two solitudes” between French-and-English-speaking Canadians ensued. The site at various times has housed both gallows and brothels. But today it is a national park and houses two new sculptures by the Haida artist Chief 7IDANsuu James Hart and Wendat Nation artist Ludovic Boney.

The works will soon be accompanied by native plantings from both Quebec and Haida Gwai, and punctuated by a fire pit. The installation is intended to represent the beginning of a dialogue that goes beyond negotiating the two solitudes and explores ways to bridge the gap between the “many solitudes” of Canada’s First Nations. While the Indigenous village of Stadacona (now Québec City) had disappeared by the time the French explorer Samuel de Champlain arrived in 1608, the site remained a hub for the Wendat and other First Nations, who gathered there for political reasons, trade and cultural happenings. The installation of the new works is a kind of contemporary continuum of this tradition.

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https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/09 ... sculptures