BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, PERSONAL MEMORIES, AND CULTURAL NARRATION, HARMONIOUS CONTRASTS TELL THE STORY OF TIPI.

Tipi, an Oji-Cree / Anisininew Kwe (she/her), identifies as a “reclamation artist,” creating digital art from discarded technology for over twenty years. The Oji-Cree are an Indigenous group primarily living in northern Canada, and Tipi draws inspiration from her cultural roots to address complex themes such as cultural biases in art, technological data biases, and environmental science, with a strong focus on data sovereignty and conservation. Through her art, she challenges stereotypes while promoting cultural inclusion, linguistic diversity, and gender equality. Not only an artist but also a curator and organizer, she founded an artist cooperative to give voice to the marginalized. Her digital works have been exhibited 40 International exhibitions, from Los Angeles-New York, Amsterdam to Rome, Bali, Singapore, Taipei, Seoul, and Art Basel Miami.

Image: ᐃᐢᑵᐤ iskwêw _woman”

At the heart of her work, Tipi reflects on the painful history endured by Indigenous peoples in residential schools in Canada, highlighting the ongoing efforts required to heal and build an inclusive society. She finds joy in expressing her moods through various artistic genres, transcending Indigenous stereotypes. Her art is also rooted in the cultural context that surrounds her, going beyond the archetype of the northern teepee, her artist name is “tipi” which is translated “equal” in Cree, and speaks to her First Nation “tipi” teachings (each pole of the tipi designates a teaching of the balance of community connection and accountability). which serves as a universal symbol to welcome the audience into the appropriate interpretive framework. In her works, she also explores the anthropomorphic changes of the natural and animal context.

Image: ᓂᑐᐸᔨᐏᐣ nitopayiwin _warpath_

  • “I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF AN INDIGENOUS FUTURIST”.

    This interaction manifests as a sound contrast that blends animal and plant noises with mechanical and cyborg sounds.

    This element of contrast characterizes her work, as seen in the piece where she discusses being a twin—two identical faces but very different—reflecting both traditional influences and strong digital influences.

    In a particular piece, an astronaut stands in front of a teepee, accompanied by a background of natural and technological sounds, while another features an teepee against an urban skyline. Through these juxtapositions, Tipi creates dreamlike worlds that invite reflection and stimulate curiosity. It is through these contrasts that she manages to convey the values of her origins to the world.

    Image: ᓂᑐᐸᔨᐏᐣ nitopayiwin _warpath_.

Interview

  • ᒋᑳᐢᑌᓯᓂᐏᐣ cikâstêsiniwin _shadow

  • Do you see your artistic production as oriented towards spreading the culture of your origins? If so, what do you want the world to know, and what kind of connections do you want to create with your cultural heritage?

    My science fiction / dystopian / cyberpunk series I call tipi-fi is exactly that. It’s about my First Nation paradigm and teachings of futurism. I am First Nation member from a remote northern fly-in community (which is a bit different than those that identify as “indigenous” as I connected to a community of language and clan) I literally follow our traditional 7th generation teachings (white buffalo teachings) which means to manage all resource use keeping up to 7 generations in mind.

    In sharing works from my cultural paradigm I share the connection of our past as it directly reflects our intention in the building our future.

    In this way I am the embodiment of an indigenous futurist. The importance of cultural influence on art from people around the world is so fundamental to our creative voice and for me organically establishes genuine connections w global community (and who knows, worlds beyond lol).

  • ᒋᑳᐢᑌᓯᓂᐏᐣ cikâstêsiniwin _shadow

  • Do you think that digital art can make your cultural tradition immortal and provide a contemporary form to cultural stereotypes?

    one of the very first aspects of my artistic expression in the language and my use of syllabics. I was sole proprietor of an artist gallery with my full size teepee outside - there were Cree syllabics on the large storefront sign (Photo below) which differentiated from all the other storefronts-I feel this is also significant with my own artwork. as a life long artist and passion for film and science fiction I was felt Cree syllabics looked like an interplanetary language and fits so well w my sci-fi art style.

    For me as an vegan “bear clan” woman (matriarchal clan system) it is imperative for me to break away from ceremonial regalia stereotypes of indigenous such as the feather headdress including primarily ancient earth shamanism tropes. the indigenous globally are very diverse in language and ceremonies, and I choose to expand my vision to unknown galaxies.

    In fact, I hold sacred knowledge of physical locations I have been taken to where our history includes ceremonial sites - where there are believed to be portals to alternate time and space. My art is an exploration of those past, current, and future portals and yes I believe my language, and storytelling through artwork will last in perpetuity as long as they are shared through any medium.

"I SHARE THE CONNECTION OF OUR PAST AS IT DIRECTLY REFLECTS OUR INTENTION IN THE BUILDING OUR  FUTURE."

  • How does artificial intelligence influence your work? Are you opening a dialogue in which you reflect on cultural information in artistic production? Have you found new expressive possibilities, or do you see AI merely as a tool?

    I really believe that as a futurist and advocate of insider activism (which means advancing changes from the inside out) it is important for me to understand technology, and understand what areas advances are necessary.

    I am a total optimist, and often exploring  dystopian themes as a provocative response to my post secondary education as an environmental science graduate. The part of me that is a genX punk likes to push narratives that make ppl think about who we are and where we are going.

    I also like to challenge the marketing focus of the “new is better” mindset with regard to tech, thinking for instance of the film “wall-e”, my artwork is all created with refurbished ewaste, it is easy to feel the limitations of older tech but in fact I love the unique creative experience. I would like to think it’s possible my art questions the ideology of sustainability in advancement of our technologies.

  • That said, this new ai creative technology has given me the most incredible opportunity to express the fullness of my culture, language, environmental paradigm, and societal consciousness. It’s been instrumental in furthering the dialogue in understanding that we all have biases, and that technology is no different. For me the decision to not once, in over 15k image generations, have i used another artists img, name, or style, nor have I used any other ethnic identity other than my own, is about the intrinsic value of my own identity and its significance 


    I don’t see ai as merely a tool. It is an entirely new creative and social platform to explore many media expressions and research possibilities 


    It has always been my priority to understand technology, from writing my first website w code on notepad to using my lens based work to launch a full exploration of the portals of time and space via my language and First Nation culture


    Miigwech.

  • ᐋᓂᐢᑰᒧᐦᒋᑲᐣ âniskômohcikan “connection”.

  • ᐊᔨᓈᓀᐤ ayinānīw.
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