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 Needle Dart Feather

Poem by Object

“NDF” by K.I.A. , 210 objects; variable sizes.

Each object contains an element of the one next to it. As well, one is industrial; one semi-industrial/organic, one organic. All are white with black.

This installation can be ‘read’ many ways.

One reading, as the objects segue upwards (needles > darts > feathers) is the movement towards enlightenment... a needle can be associated with fear (pain, addiction); a dart with joy (playing); a feather with the spiritual (as a measure weighing against the soul in Ancient Egyptian beliefs; as cleansing in various Indigenous ceremonies; in Japanese tea ceremonies). 

However: a needle can bring healing and joy (vaccinations, tattoos); a dart pain (it was a weapon of war); and a separated feather may mean death (remains of a bird; humans and avian flu, hunting...)

And: the objects can also all be seen as simultaneously having the same meaning: protection (against sickness, against an enemy, against cold...)

Here’s a quotation from a tribal elder (Lumbee) that sums up the ideas-behind: “...look to the great eagle, the favourite bird of the Great Spirit.The eagle feather is divided into two parts, part light, and part dark. This represents daylight and darkness, summer and winter, peace and war, and life and death...”