Apjelmit
Apjelmit (Unable to stop laughing)
Materials: Hand-dyed cochineal/Lac porcupine quills on reused paper
Dimensions: 11 inches x 14 inches (Framed)
Laughter is a form of ceremony. That kind of deep, body-shaking laughter—what Tiffany Lethabo King describes as “the space of the flesh”—feels like something sacred. It’s the kind of joy that leaves your body aching, but in the best way. In many Indigenous practices I look to, like sweat lodges and sunrise ceremonies, there’s a clear connection between the body, healing, and joy. That movement through joy—even in hard times—feels like a kind of assurance that we’re still here, still connected; it is medicine.
This piece is part of an ongoing reflection on relationships—between people, the Land, and all our relations. These connections are what hold us up when things feel heavy.
The work is made with hand-dyed porcupine quills using cochineal and lac. The quills were carefully embedded into paper from an earlier project (Gepmite'tg “Paying homage” 2019) that honours Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people.
By bringing together quillwork, ceremony, memory, and joy, I’m thinking about how we show up for each other—in grief and laughter. Healing isn’t always quiet or still. Sometimes it lives in the sound of voices laughing together, in the way the community holds us through it all
This piece is part of an ongoing reflection on relationships—between people, the Land, and all our relations. These connections are what hold us up when things feel heavy.
The work is made with hand-dyed porcupine quills using cochineal and lac. The quills were carefully embedded into paper from an earlier project (Gepmite'tg “Paying homage” 2019) that honours Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people.
By bringing together quillwork, ceremony, memory, and joy, I’m thinking about how we show up for each other—in grief and laughter. Healing isn’t always quiet or still. Sometimes it lives in the sound of voices laughing together, in the way the community holds us through it all