Ink Stained: Experiments Towards Decolonizing Print

Abstract

Print media is integral to the historic and ongoing colonization of Indigenous lands across Turtle Island. This thesis describes six artworks by Emily Davidson that interrogate the artist’s relationship to colonization as a white queer settler woman and printmaker. The research-creation discussed uses aesthetic action to activate settler responsibility aiming to contribute to decolonization. Two artworks use Territory Network Methodology to visualize the way sovereign Indigenous territories are interconnected with everyday objects and experiences. This methodology runs parallel to Indigenous-led mapping projects and intercultural collaborations that centre Indigenous place names and visualize Indigenous territories. Two artworks focus on the roles of printers and settlers in Transatlantic Slavery in the territories that became Canada. All six artworks engage with the concepts and practices of archival research. Together, these artworks offer experimental methods through which settlers can trouble the colonial archive, activate critical self-reflection, and redirect the medium of print to participate in decolonization.