Smoke Signals x Reflections
Curated by Gallery TPW's Curatorial Research Fellow — Jesse King
February 12, 2025 - March 30, 2025
Jake Kimble
Jesse King
Kikki Guerard
Melissa Johns
Megan Feheley
The Celestial Collective is a contemplative journey into the realm of Indigenous identity grounded through a desire for connection and joy.
Smoke Signals x Reflections will create a welcoming space by Two-Spirit artists through multiple projects, inviting visitors into an environment that prioritizes a sense of reciprocity and kinship.
Artist Bios
Jesse King, born Ojibwe from Wasauksing First Nation (Eagle Clan), is based in Toronto. King’s work and curatorial interests frequently explore the many facets of identity, including discussions of queerness, gender, and the importance of cultural
representation.
King’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in Berlin, Germany, and Tampere, Finland. Their work has been in several independent publications, including fashion magazines such as Wonderland Magazine. King was the Exhibitions and Program Coordinator at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
for three years, anchoring themselves in celebrating all forms of art through collaboration with national and international artists and galleries. King works with the AGO as the Curatorial Assistant for Indigenous Youth and Artists in Residency Projects.
Jake Kimble is a multidisciplinary Chipewyan (Dënesųłıné) artist and curator from Treaty 8 territory in the Northwest Territories whose practice revolves around acts of self-care, self-repair,
and gender-based ideological refusal. Kimble belongs to the Deninu K’ue First Nation and currently lives, works, and shoots on the stolen territory of xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Holding both a degree in Acting from Vancouver Film School as well as a BFA in Photography from Emily Carr University of Art + Design Kimble imbues his work with a sense of theatricality and levity, which are core principles in their practice. Through a clever subversion of the everyday aesthetics Kimble also plays with language and ambiguity – something that comes natural with them being a two-spirited artist. Using a funny bone as a tool, Kimble excavates themes of existentialism, narcissism, and the strange, offering an invitation to the audience to examine the absurdities that exist within the everyday so that they too may exhale, unclench, and even chuckle in the spaces where laughter is often lost.
Kikki Guerard a Two-Spirit Cree from Treaty 9 territory, Kikki is a creative director, photographer, and storyteller. They are a Taykwa Tagamou First Nation member residing in Tkaron:to. They pursued a post-secondary education in Photography & Marketing at OCAD University. Kikki’s work explores themes of identity, revealing the magic and vulnerability of their community. Through the power of visual storytelling, they hope to create spaces for healing and transformation.
Melissa Johns is a new media artist and educator from a mixed Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk, Turtle Clan) and French Canadian background, born and based in Tkaronto. Melissa’s visual practice manifests at the convergence of contemporary media, using interdisciplinary methods
to collect, preserve, and transform fragments of the stories around her. Specializing in virtual reality installations, digital painting, and video art, Melissa’s work centers on investigating the narrative potential of these emergent channels.
Megan Feheley is an ililiw (Moose Cree) interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto. They are currently working towards their BFA in Indigenous Visual Culture at OCAD University, and work predominately in experimental sculpture/installation, beadwork, textiles, painting, and video. Feheley's work has been exhibited internationally in Aotearoa (New Zealand), and nationally in Toronto, Regina, North Bay, Picton and in online presentations. Feheley has had a recent solo exhibition with Xpace Cultural Centre (Toronto, 2020), and was the recipient of the 2022 Virtual Residency with Open Studio (Toronto). They also participated in an award-winning collaboration with the Royal Ontario Museum (Uncover/Recover project, 2019), for which Feheley was the
recipient of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award (2019).
Smoke Signals x Reflections is supported by:
Public Programming
EXHIBITION OPENING
Thursday, February 13, 2025
6PM-8PM
Join us on Thursday, February 13 at 6PM to celebrate the opening of Smoke Signals x Reflections, curated by Gallery TPW's Curatorial Research Fellow Jesse King.
BEADING CIRCLE | OPEN SESSION
Thursday, February 27, 2025
7PM-9PM
Join us on Thursday, February 27, at 7PM for a beading workshop at Gallery TPW with host beader Jenna Bjornson, as part of our programming for the exhibition Smoke Signals x Reflections.
This session is open to the public and materials will be provided.
Registration required
PANEL DISCUSSION
Jesse King, Kikki Guerard, Melissa Johns, Megan Feheley
Saturday, March 1, 2025
2PM-4PM
BEADING CIRCLE | CLOSED SESSION
Thursday, March 20, 2025
7PM-9PM
Join us on Thursday, March 20, at 7PM for a beading workshop at Gallery TPW with host beader Jenna Bjornson, as part of our programming for the exhibition Smoke Signals x Reflections.
This session is exclusively for Indigenous Guests.
Materials will be provided.
Registration required.
Exhibition Catalogue
Learn more about the work in Smoke Signals x Reflections through the catalogue download link below or visit the gallery to pick up a physical copy of the catalogue!
