Jerry Evans
Jerry Evans’s new film, Mekwe’k L’nu – The Red People, shines a light upon the legacy of Shawnadithit, the last known living member of the Beothuk. The film includes detailed maps made by Shawnadithit, layered with Evans’s own drawings, photographs and animations. The resulting vignettes move a subdued history into the present.
Evans states, “Shawnadithit’s drawings and her personal notes are the last tangible remaining fragments of her living personal memory and of a people who are now extinct. It gives us a glimpse into the past through her point of view.” The past Evans reveres is critical to the recovery of Indigenous/Mi’kmaw sovereignty in Ktaqmkuk, but also an important reflection on colonial constructions of place. Inserting contemporary representation alongside historical events emphasizes the consequence of unwelcome encounters and the critical capacity necessary for survival. With Mekwe’k L’nu – The Red People, Evans stewards the spirit of Shawnadithit forward for the future ancestors who move across these lands.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jerry Evans is a senior Mi’Kmaq visual artist, curator and filmmaker, based in St. John’s, NL. His work has explored his Indigenous heritage through painting, printmaking, and film. In 1996, he curated FIRST, the inaugural exhibition of Indigenous art in Newfoundland and Labrador. Evans was born in the central Newfoundland town of Grand Falls in 1961. He holds a diploma in commercial art from the St. John’s College of Trades and Technology (1980); a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (1986); and graduated from Memorial University with Bachelor of Education (1992). Evans specializes in stone lithography printmaking and in 1992, he became a Master Printmaker. He has been recognized with the Endurance Award, VANL-CARFAC (2019); and the Artist Achievement Award, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council (2020). Evans’s recent project Towards an Encyclopedia of Local Knowledge, Chapter III: Miawpukek – The Middle River is his first major collaboration with another artist (Pam Hall) and represents his ongoing exploration and celebration of Mi’kmaq and other Indigenous experience in Newfoundland Labrador. His art has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and a major solo exhibition of his work will be presented at The Rooms Provincial Art Gallery in St. John’s (May 27, 2023 – January 2, 2024).