Moving Together: New paintings by Shaun Hedican



January 19 - February 17, 2012
Opening Reception and Meet the Artist, Saturday, January 21, 1:00 - 4:00pm

Admirers and collectors of Shaun Hedican’s works are familiar with his peaceful flocks of birds resting in Medicine Trees, painted in an array of brilliant primary colours, eyes composed of layered circular droplets reminiscent of m & m’s. His Ojibway motifs of turtle, bear, eagles, fish and duality images enhanced by colourful but simple backgrounds are also a common feature of his creative expressions.

Recently Shaun has been experimenting with his approach to surface and venturing into mixed media work. Some incorporate Aboriginal historical figures and events, or as in “Miss Manifest Destiny 2004” a provocatively altered vision of Miss U.S.A. 2004.

While well known artists such as Carl Beam, Bob Boyer and Robert Hoyle have earlier explored Aboriginal principles versus western views within their art, Shaun thinks it is important to continue to do so. In his words “Many of our cultural heroes eschewed western views, struggled at great cost for their beliefs and people’s sake, and it is alarming to have them denoted as insignificant and portrayed negatively in current print and other media today”.

As Shaun expresses his creative growth, artistic maturity and awareness of a distinctly Ojibway perspective, The Guild Shop is honoured to present these new works with a solo show.

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Shaun Hedican is a member of the Loon Clan and The Eabametoong First Nation. (Located 300 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay). He was born on December 23, 1978 in Guelph, Ontario to Mary-Ann Cheesequay and Edward Hedican.

The establishment of his cultural identity started at an early age, as his mother became actively involved in the revival of aboriginal activism, culture, and spirituality that was taking place within the Aboriginal community. Time outside of school was often spent travelling throughout Ontario to attend Elders’ Conferences, Medicine Society Rituals, and other cultural events. Early in his life Shaun became an initiate of the Grand Medicine Society, where he learned the concepts, practices and spirituality of his culture.

Shaun moved to Toronto in 2009. He has struggled to pursue the Ojibway ideal while living in an urban and modern environment. This change forced him to seek alternative meaningful cultural activities and he began to express himself through painting. Shaun’s style of painting developed from his experiences and knowledge of pictographs, birch bark scrolls, beadwork, and other traditional iconography.

Shaun credits Elders Arthur Solomon and Peter Isaccs, as having influenced the development of his character and imparting knowledge he would later reflect in his paintings. Creatively, Shaun has also been inspired by the paintings of his grandmother Margaret Hedican, his uncle William Hedican, and their experiences with Norval Morrisseau.







Written by Maxine Bell on January 18, 2012