AARON LEON S7atqllp Sekúsi7t (Ponderosa Star)
2023
Laser light jet on super gloss
Image: 16” x 16”
Edition of 50
This limited-edition print was inspired by Aaron Leon’s work, presented in The Lind Prize 2022 exhibition at The Polygon Gallery. 7(ʔ) : Reciprocity Values is a four-channel video work that connects landscape and language. Leon contemplates features of the land whose names in the Secwepemctsín language include a glottal stop, represented by the 7 on the QWERTY keyboard and as (ʔ) in the International Phonetic Alphabet. S7atqllp Sekúsi7t (Ponderosa Star) depicts the crown of a ponderosa pine tree as seen in Leon’s video installation, while also conveying the iridescent quality of the artist’s unique, additive colour photography process.
Leon is from Splatsin, part of the Secwepemc Nation, and was raised in the town of Armstrong, BC. He received his BFA in photography from Concordia University. His work explores Indigenous issues and engages with the landscape around Secwepemculucw: from incorporating birchbark into his practice, to translating his Nation’s Stspákwela (stories) into lens-based medium.