Artist launching book, art in Whycocomagh – TheChronicleHerald.ca

WHYCOCOMAGH, N.S. —

Interdisciplinary artist and poet Michelle Sylliboy will launch her latest book of poetry as well as an exhibit of her art at the Whycocomagh Waterfront Centre on Sunday from 2-4 p.m.

“I want to show the people the art and show people what I’m up to,” said Sylliboy in a phone interview from Toronto, where she had done a hieroglyphic workshop for the University of Toronto Indigenous studies department, as well a book launch.

“I’m pretty excited to do this.”

Although born in Boston, the daughter of the late Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy was raised on her traditional L’nuk territory in We’koqmaq. While living on the traditional, unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, Sylliboy completed a bachelor of fine arts at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, and a master’s in education from Simon Fraser University, both in British Columbia. She is currently a PhD candidate in Simon Fraser University’s philosophy of education program, where she is working to reclaim her original written komqwej’wikasikl language. Her thesis involves creating a school curriculum around Mi’kmaq hieroglyphics and she hopes to defend it later this year.

Her collection of photography and Mi’kmaq (L’nuk) hieroglyphic poetry, “Kiskajeyi—I Am Ready,” was published by Rebel Mountain Press in 2019. That volume of hieroglyphic poetry, now in its third printing in less than its first year of publication, was the first book of its kind and it has been well reviewed. She’s launched it across Canada and in New Zealand and next week, she’ll take it to Australia where she will talk about the work. She’s hoping to eventually take it to Vienna, Austria, where the original hieroglyphic plates of the Mi’kmaq language reside.

“I’m trying to make connections with people there to set up a book launch — it’s still in the organizing stage there. These things take time.”

If that wasn’t enough, she’s also preparing an exhibit of her own art, which includes photographs, sculpture and carved animal bones. It will be on display at the Nova Scotia Art Gallery in Halifax, starting this June and lasting for six months.

“It’s been a wonderful year. The outpouring of support that I have received from my community and my people and my friends from across Canada, people I don’t know, I feel blessed. I worked hard to make the art and to make the book and I’ll be working even harder to finish the dissertation. It’s been quite a challenge. The art and the book are all part of my dissertation. So there will be another book — the dissertation will be published as a book.

“I’m very grateful.”

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