Laura M. Hosaluk
maker & mover
from Treaty 6 Territory Saskatoon
Painting the Prairie, Acrylic on Found Object, High Way 14, Kindersley, SK, CA, 2017
My creations open up spaces of wonder that invite contemplation of the world around us, using art to celebrate the human condition. I am curious about the power of installation art and its ability to connect with people. I draw from my family history to tell meaningful stories. Growing up within a settler culture I had no distinct ethnic culture—other than enjoying Ukrainian food, sharing traumas, and listening to my grandparents’ stories- link me to both a personal and collective history of life on the prairies. My roots can be traced back to four places: Poland, Ukraine, Scotland, and England, all of which converge in one unifying location—Saskatchewan.
The Skeklers, Dance Investigations with KSAMB Dance, The Gallery, 2022.
‘The Circle and the Dot‘ is a mixed-media Installation inspired by Scottish Folklore and Saskatchewan architecture relating to Ukrainian Canadian ancestry. It merges ceramic techniques and material connections used by my ancestors and into contemporary forms that consider my history in Saskatchewan. Being a third-generation Canadian is complex, and in asking where I come from, I’m faced with my Settler relations.
My material connections from my process carried over to transfer ideas into contemporary forms inspired by a Scottish Folklore ritual of Skekling. Skeklers dressed in enigmatic straw costumes to embody supernatural beings while concealing their true identities. This theme of concealment resonates with me as I reflect on my family’s assimilation into Canadian culture and strive to uncover suppressed and forgotten aspects of my cultural identity.
By combining dance with my immersive installation, I invite viewers to explore the realm where the corporeal and the ethereal converge; a space where human forms meet inanimate objects.
Natural materials combined with the re-creations made from found objects offer new-found journeys into the past and future. Their arrangements allow us to reconsider our relationship with the earth as human beings. I combine the refined and fragile medium of porcelain and the density and resilience of bronze against the precariousness and unique histories of found objects to express ideas in a way no other materials can.
XY Chromosome, Porcelain, Wood, Acrylic 26x16x16 cm, 2013, SK Arts Permanent Collection
My connections to the materials I choose invite the intuitive response directing me in my work. These materials hold the entire mystery of our planet: refined, recycled, worn down over millions of years only to be discovered yet again and take on new forms. I must trust these glimpses given to me and respond intuitively through my work.
The Wait, Porcelain, Wood, Found Object, 15x9x12 cm, 2012
Rise Up, Bronze, 55x4x3 cm, 2011
These things build up, Porcelain, Wood, Hair, 12x10x17 cm, 2012
Rattle Me, Porcelain, Wood, Acrylic, Found Object, 17x12x12 cm, 2013, Joe Fafard Private Collection
Mr.Fix It, Found Object, Ink on fabric, 8×10″, 2011, Photograph, Purge Exhibition 2012
These photographs were installed within a cabinet. The viewer needed to investigate closer and look through peep hole to see what was inside the rooms. To read more, visit Exhibitions
Childs Play, Found Object, Ink on Paper, 8×10″, 2011, Photograph,Purge Exhibition 2012
Circa 1883 from Benbecula, Acrylic Painting and Cheese Cloth, 18 x 12″, 2005
Three White Horses, Photograph, 91 x 142 cm, The Circle and the Dot Exhibition, The Gallery, Treaty Six, Saskatoon, SK, 2022,
Land Acknowledgment: Reconciliation is a word from my culture and is the work in my people. It’s a word that comes from the Church. I acknowledge my existence and education started on Treaty 6 Territory, and the same goes for the beginnings of my parents and their parents. Our presence here today is proof of my families history in altering and changing the natural Territories of Indigenous peoples and the traditional homeland of the Métis.
The treaties continue not to be honored to this day, which is why many of us who now call Canada our home have and significant advantages over the original hosts who continue to live with oppression. I support conciliation and redress, starting with confronting myself and my Settler relationships for the hopeful healing of future generations. Mother Mary teach us more.
If Legs Could Kill, Found Objects, Stonehouse Collaboration, 2016
My art practice guides me to where I have begun, a direct transmission of my mother and father and their mothers and fathers, travelling back in four different directions to arrive in one unifying position here in Saskatchewan. This excavation of my ancestry is a valuable exploration of Settler Culture. Engaging in this work is an active expression of healing and allows me to access new pathways in my thinking. My hands are the tools.
Visit Sculptural Works to see full body in porcelain, wood and bronze.
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