Dancing Flames
As a Native Indian Teacher Education Program NITEP student I was inspired to carve Dancing Flames to commemorate Dr. Jo-ann Archibald’s (Q’um Q’um Xiiem) legacy in Indigenous education at UBC. As the energy exchanged by wood becoming fire produces light and warmth, so too did it inspire our ancestors to gather in storytelling.
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Dancing Flames, 2017 | Maple wood, black stone, steel, 7’ 3” x 2’ 3” x 2’ 3” | SOLD - installed at the UBC Ponderosa Building
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The artist invites viewers to imagine the transformative gift of fire and the movement of the flames while floating embers rise to spontaneous sparks. The dancing flames allude to the process it undergoes in obtaining an energy balance. In education one must be willing to undergo transformations to give rise to the energetic sparks of creativity. When balance is obtained one’s, well-being is adapted to contemporary learning realities.
The wooden figures appear connected at the legs; yet appear to move in individual directions. At one point there is a transformation of their energies. As individuals encounter education, one must also be willing to see the interconnections of their individual energy with those of community.
The placement of the Dancing Flames sculpture in the Ponderosa education lobby at UBC complements the permeability and transparency of the building architectural designs as a sense of place. Thus as one encounters the diverse visual points of perspective of the sculpture, it animates the possibility for an exchange between the perspectives of self and community. The artist suggests that you cannot see all the perspectives of a story until you come full circle around the fire where stories take place. Just as the fluid figures undertake processes of transformation each student becomes a spark of energy that ignites and interconnects with the story of who came before. This sculpture commemorates Dr. Archibald’s (Q’um Q’umXiiem) contributions to Indigenous perspectives through her vibrant energy leaving a legacy of Storywork and creating a space for future generations. Six members of my family attended UBC and have benefited from Dr. Archibald’s far-reaching educational presence while studying at UBC.
In Indigenous Storywork Archibald retells with permission by Dr. Eber Hampton the story of Coyote Searching for the Bone Needle. As Coyote searches for his lost bone needle around the fire, Coyote is reminded by owl to look at the place beyond the fire. Archibald reminds us “we need to venture to the unfamiliar territory”. Archibald’s leadership legacy in Indigenous education connects us all to the grand story of our educational journey marking the course for new creative and transformative pathways in education.