Archer Pechawis
New Media
History
I have been making New Media works since 1995. Many of these were bespoke pieces made for use in my performances, or rolled into performance works once they were completed. Stand-alone works are included in the list above, in roughly chronological order. I am also the sole proprietor of a web development company.
My interest as a First Nations artist working with technological processes is how these digital protocols mesh with our cultural protocols, and what happens when they merge. As I wrote at the turn of the millennia:
“My current fascination is what I call 'transitional Cree culture', the place where Cree culture meets the onrush of millennial technology. I explore this fascination in performance. Using digital technologies I attempt to locate and query this meeting place, however fleeting. My work is a temporary roadmap. These maps are signposts of the moment, which I create to share.”
Some works are not necessarily art pieces per se, but things created in service of artists, such as "An Indian Act: Shooting the Indian Act", a Flash-based CD-ROM document of Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun's 1997 performance and exhibition. Also in this category is the video system I developed in collaboration with Christoph Runne for Full Circle's "The River - Home". Assisting other artists with their technical processes has always been a part of my practice, and for me part and parcel of my teaching praxis.
