Zaagaasige Giizis

Zaagaasige Giizis (they/them/she/her) is a queer Anishinaabe artist who creates work that is focused on unsettling the arduous interface of settler colonialism. Currently based in Ottawa, her paintings are informed by a fascination with 00s internet aesthetics, late night cityscapes, and cinematic world-building. raised in the lonely foothills of the sagamok indian reserve, zaagaasige’s early exposure to woodland art and culture continues to influence their creative praxis. in addition to the native karaoke hotspots of thunder bay, zaagaasige has exhibited and sold work on the downtown eastside of vancouver, most notably in the 16th annual oppenheimer art show.

As a student of the woodland school of art, my paintings are an emotional expression of the frontier tensions that exist between my ancestral lifeways and the colonial project at hand. With thick black lines fragmented over layers of florescent and metallic acrylic paint, the neatly illustrative content of my pieces are known for conjuring feelings of discomfort and mesmerized wonder in the viewer. With bright images on analog canvases that are evocative of neon signs, videogame color schemes, and arcade lights, my work is influenced by the tragedy of my family lore, the digital violence of settlement, and my lived experience with frontline land defence and homelessness. In using a vibrant style to represent the dark side of amerikan empire, I invite audiences to look beyond the poppy woodland art format of my work by staring deep into the colonial abyss that is lurking just beneath the surface.