Ivy Pete

I am Ivy Pete. I work with traditional materials through contemporary sculptural mediums to explore themes of ceremony, identity, and expression. I am deeply grateful and humbled to draw inspiration from many different Indigenous cultures in my practice. I collect materials when I travel through different communities to integrate into my work. In this way, all of my art carries the spirit of the relatives and homelands I am honored to visit with. My practice has evolved from the knowledge of many great teachers as well as objects that have been documented and exhibited from the old ways.

Tangata Whenua, means “people of the land” in Te Reo Maori. The work is a depiction of the Tino rangatiritanga, the Maori flag for sovereignty. It speaks to the sacred relationships all Native people have with their homelands and to the interconnectedness of our struggles for self-determination. I use beads and quills woven with self-harvested buffalo sinew to represent the knowledge carried by artisans from the Plains. The salmon connect the tangata from Turtle Island to Aotearoa. Solidarity is our strength as Indigenous peoples and we honor our deep connections to all beings through art forms that assert our sovereignty.