Belonging

Jun 6, 2002
Field:

Performance

Location:

Grand Luxe Hall, Western Front

Time:

8:00 p.m.

Description:

Belonging was based on inquiries into, and reflections upon Saulteaux rites of passage for women, and in this case, the rite of menarche. 

Reona Brass began her performance outside Western Front, dragging a handdrum on the ground that was attached to her jacket as she slowly made her way inside to the Grand Luxe Hall where a table and two chairs were on stage. 

Brass used a long braid of a hair, red toilet seats, a carton of milk, and three Indian status cards as symbolism within the performance. She drew attention to her body through the use of a bandaged eye, a dental device that kept her mouth open, and tubing that funnelled milk between her mouth and vagina.

Archer Pechawis wrote in his documentation of the work that “Brass’s work details the struggle of Indigenous womanhood. Utilizing the processes of ritual, her performances seize upon the female body (her own) as a site of transgression, suffering, endurance and transformation.” 

This work was a part of the Contemporary Ritual Series curated by Victoria Singh. 

Video documentation is available upon request.

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Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.