Artist Statement:
I engage with what it means to be indigenous and alive in the present. My work is directly connected to my identity and heritage, and centers on femininity and indigeneity as embodied through the vivid paintings, basket designs, and experiences of native women. I use the specifically gendered objects of my culture, such as Yurok basket caps and Paiute shawls, to inspire a new understanding of the gaze, lineage, and the self. Specifically in engaging contemporary materials, such as digital renderings and sculptures, through a humanizing, indigenous knowledge system .
Honoring native women is central to my work. Invoking the presence of native women, I am able to demonstrate the resilience of my community. I contrast my traditional cultural roots and the present-day to reveal the harmony of both, and decolonize through better understanding of that continuity rather than agreeing with a presumed/enforced discontinuity that is the mechanism of colonization. Having the ability to merge my experiences within my different tribes allows me to better comprehend the past, reveal absences within the present, and construct the future.
Contact
tseabbe@gmail.com
Pyramid Lake, Nevada