Family Ties, 1981

The Collection of TransCanada PipeLines Limited, Calgary

As a founding member of the “Indian Group of Seven”, Odjig's distinctive Woodland style is a direct response to the trend of exclusion or misrepresentation of Native and Indigenous culture in the dialogue of Canadian art. Opting for a style emphasizing strong line, bold colour, and lyrical movement, Odjig thrusts her Odawa-Potawatomi culture and histories into the visual culture of Canadian art. The cool and neutral colour palette evokes a sense of calm in the composition. The use of line and form help reinforce the close connection of the family as arms wrap around each other in an embrace. Quintessential to the artist’s body of work is the cubist-like play with dimension and spacial awareness as the faces and bodies of the figures are broken up into divided and rotated planes. The three-dimensional qualities of the eyes, noses and cheeks have been flattened and rotated in the image plane to be viewed simultaneously adding a poetic and subtle distortion to the intimate moment. The stages of life are represented in the composition with the beginning of new life in the arms of the elder with mid-life family members encircled in the embrace. Formally, the triangular shape of the figures also emphasizes a metaphor for strength and togetherness of the family as a united front in the development of the greater lineage. The themes of family love and connection are used as a vehicle for the artist to continue a dialogue between Native and non-Native cultures and narratives. The universal theme is strategic in continuing and furthering a greater mutual understanding and respect within a complex multicultural definition of Canadian identity and artistic practices.