Kiona Ligtvoet

My name is Kiona Ligtvoet (she/her), I’m a Cree-Métis artist from Michel First Nation, currently practicing in Amiskwacîwâskahikan, or socalled Edmonton, on Treaty 6 territory. I primarily work in painting and printmaking, often referencing my familial and cultural lines. I received my diploma in Fine Art from MacEwan University in 2017, then attended the U of A to complete my BFA. I’m currently interested in exploring a non-linear telling of memories through narrative work, drawing from feelings of displacement within my own indigenous identity.

In my studio practices, I’ve been focusing on themes of preciousness and loss through the scope of my experiences. The stories in my work are chosen from person and place, as opposed to a colonially linear telling of events. I often use the land I grew up on while living with my Moshom (grandfather), as a meeting place across the narratives of my paintings. Formally, I’ve been exploring a sense of distance and fragility within memory through thin applications of washes, drawn detail, memoiristic text, and a purposeful use of negative space. In addition to non-documented memory, I also use photographs and pieces of personal writings that trigger memories I hold dear, and often associate with grief and displacement. My work focuses on navigating through feelings of loss, intergenerational trauma, and tenderness.