Indigenous Reality

Date2020

MediumWool, quilted synthetic velvet, polyester ribbon, glass beads, sequins

DimensionsOverall: 73 1/2 × 51 × 3/4 in. (186.7 × 129.5 × 1.9 cm) Other (see description): 41 × 32 1/2 × 1/4 in. (104.1 × 82.6 × 0.6 cm)

Object numberN0010.2021

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Museum Purchase.

Label TextCarla Hemlock is a contemporary Native artist whose work explores environmental justice, violence against Native women, and tribal sovereignty. In Indigenous Reality Hemlock beaded words associated with the issues faced by Native peoples surrounded by the words “Indigenous” and “reality.” At the bottom of the quilt Hemlock directly asks the view “when does it stop,” referring to violence and racism directed at Indigenous communities. Hemlock finishes the quilt with words of hope beaded on the quilt’s corners.
Exhibition History"0’nigoe:yo:h:h: Thinking In Indian", University of Buffalo Art Gallery, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, July 16, 2022 - October 2, 2022.

"As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now," Springfield Museums, Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, MA, October 14, 2023 - January 14, 2024; Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 2024 - September 2, 2024.

On View

Not on view