Fringe Momentum: The Photocollages of Patricia Deadman

Terrence Paris is Public Services Librarian at Mount St. Vincent
University in Halifax.

There is more to contemporary Canadian Indian art than the paintings of
Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland School. Deadman is inspired by color
photographs rather than ancient pictographs when she seeks to reveal the
imagery and vitality of traditional Indian ceremony and ritual. She
manipulates photographs of the powwow held at the Six Nations Reserve
near her home in Woodstock, Ontario, so that the static is transcended
to create an illusion of images appearing in rapid succession. Color,
texture, inscribed line, and erasure all contribute to a communication
of pure energy.

She first removes the background context, replacing it with layers of
latex washes so that only glimpses of human figures or apparel are
revealed. Melted natural beeswax is applied to the surface, followed by
colored waxes. Finally, the surface is burnished, then scratched and
scraped to uncover the latex underneath. Recently, Deadman has included
pieces of towelling or wallpaper to add an even richer texture to the
photocollages. The result is a vibrant and original body of work well
represented in this catalogue to her 1990 solo exhibition at the Thunder
Bay Art Gallery.