The works of Wendy Red Star and
Kambui Olujimi address the themes of identity, home, personal narrative, and
mythology in different ways. Their difference in approach also includes a
variety of how they touch upon these topics, with the most obvious being their
mediums. In the case of Kambui Olujimi, he utilizes video and projection in
order to speak on identity, home, personal narrative through the idea of
mythology itself. His work is a reflection of folklore, told in a non-linear
format like an ancient Greek epic, only with a modern twist. Wendy Red Star
however, approaches these themes through a collection of material mediums,
ranging from photographs, drawings, maps and textiles. However, she also touches
upon the idea of mythology within her own culture, and creates an epic of her
own making.
In terms of narrative, Wendy Red
Star’s work was about Native American heritage and identity. A few of the
pieces in her exhibit that stood out were the archive photographs of Native
Americans, with writings drawn over them to highlight the various parts of
their dress and their historical, cultural, and mythological representations.
Another piece is the stuffed animals that she created, based on the drawings of
some of the tribe children. At first glance, these stuffed animals appear to be
regular animal figures, however, when you take a closer look at the drawings
that the children made, there is a mythological aesthetic in the form of cave
drawings that give you a deeper story which Wendy Red Star brought to life.
Other pieces that stood out were her “Four Seasons” photographs, which spoke
directly to Native American identity and culture, represented in terms of how
she is dressed and her surroundings. The maps that she created also speak
directly on identity and culture of her tribe, as she uses archive photos and
traditional garb to show the positioning of her tribe across an early map of
the United States. Each of her pieces speak directly to a personal narrative,
as Wendy Red Star herself is a Crow tribe member, and presents that identity
and culture in her pieces.
Kambui Olujimi’s work takes a more
non-traditional approach in contrast to Wendy Red Star. He presents a more mythic approach to his
narrative, and it is unclear whether there is something personal wrapped within
the story. However, the characters presented in his short film are expanded
upon more in a novella that he personally wrote. He touches upon the idea of
home and identity in a different way as well, putting his characters on a
non-linear journey that thrusts them into various directions as they try to
succeed in finding their sense of belonging in this world that Olujimi has
created. It is hard to truly discern the meaning behind his story however, as
the non-linear storytelling is very jarring when being experienced.
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