grassesgrassesgrasses, 2022
Installation view at Aichi Triennale 2022
Tanya Lukin Linklater, grassesgrassesgrasses, 2022
kohkom scarf sculptures (kohkom scarves, thread, hide, hardware), stones gathered near water through a set of instructions, artificial sinew, doweling, dimensions variable
©︎ Aichi Triennale Organizing Committee
Photo: ToLoLo studio
Stones gathered from Aichi Prefecture are placed in relation to the kohkom scarf sculptures. In accordance with the artist’s written instructions, the intent of the work was explained to stones by a river, the stones were then carefully handled so that they could see the scenery while in transit, and after the Triennale closes, they will be returned to the river from which they came. The entire work consisting of these elements is titled grassesgrassesgrasses, a quote from Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas (2017, Graywolf Press). Lukin Linklater chose this phrase as the title of her work because of the poem’s references to the violence of American history, the phrase’s connection to “the grassroots people” (a term sometimes used to refer to indigenous peoples of Canada), and its association with the earth and stone elements of the work.