Join us for a cedar brushing ceremony led by The Polygon Gallery's Joelle Johnston.

Ceremony starts at 12pm noon, gathering outside The Polygon's entrance (east side).

Coffee and tea after.

In honour of Rebecca Belmore's Hacer Memoria and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, The Polygon Gallery will be providing space for Indigenous people to heal through ceremony. The ceremony will witness the cleansing of Hacer Memoria, and cedar brushing will be offered to residential school survivors, and their descendants.

Yúustway means take care of one another in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh.

The final day to see Hacer Memoria and its companion piece Severance is October 1.

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About Cedar Brushing
Cedar brushing is a traditional form of medicine used to help clear the mind and body of negativity and uplift the spirit. Much like smudging, the people along the West Coast use cedar boughs and water to brush off people or objects that need cleansing and healing.

About Hacer Memoria
Hacer Memoria is an outdoor sculpture that extends along the top of The Polygon Gallery’s east-facing façade. This public artwork consists of nine oversized blue and orange shirts sewn from tarpaulins The long-sleeved shirts, which hang in a row with the backs facing out, are each emblazoned with a single letter. Together the letters spell “hereafter.”

The title of the work is taken from the Pope’s penitential speech in which he recognized the importance of remembering the devastating impacts of the residential school system. Belmore co-opts his phrase “hacer memoria,” or “try to remember,” by highlighting the challenges of not forgetting. In colours that carry significance – blue for the uniforms that students wore and orange to mark the resilience of survivors – the provocative artwork offers an opportunity to acknowledge Indigenous people. Invoking the word “hereafter,” the artist places emphasis on the troubled present and unknown futures.

Hacer Memoria is accompanied by another installation in The Polygon Gallery’s stairwell, Severance. The sculpture, made of plastic mesh tarpaulin, is suggestive of black hair in a reminder of the dark history of Indian Residential Schools, in which the hair of Indigenous children was regularly shorn.

Image: Rebecca Belmore, Hacer Memoria, 2023. Photo by Alison Boulier.