Prominent Mi'kmaq artist Alan Syliboy is taking his newest exhibit across Nova Scotia, in hopes
his work will inspire young artists and storytellers.
The multimedia exhibit, titled ‘Thundermaker’, is currently at the Cape Breton Regional Library.
The exhibit tells the story of ‘Little Thunder.’
“His destiny was to become Big Thunder,” says Syliboy. “His father is Big Thunder and he is going to become the new thundermaker.”
The work was inspired by the recently discovered legend of the stone canoe, two Mi'kmaq stories that were considered lost.
“They came directly from a Mi'kmaq speaker. It took four years to translate and so those stories were legitimate Mi'kmaq legends that I could count on.”
Syliboy's work has been in galleries and film festivals around the world.
His animated short film called ‘Little Thunder’ was featured at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
This new library tour features a scaled down version of the exhibit.
“We had 24 panels, we're down to 12 panels, or sometimes 10, and we made our teepee smaller,” says Syliboy.
Syliboy's work has been paired with art from local First Nations students and the library will welcome many student groups to see the exhibit in the coming days.
“Children are completely drawn to the illustrations and the sounds and that part of it. That is something that's really interesting to watch,” says Rosalie Gillis, with the Cape Breton Regional Library.
Syliboy says ‘Thundermaker’ is his way of updating the art of Mi'kmaq storytelling for a new generation.
“You're part of the exhibit, you're part of the story, you're inside it and when you've read all the panels and you understand the story, you see the animation.”
The ‘Thundermaker’ exhibit will tour public libraries across Nova Scotia until June.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Sarah Ritchie
