Manitoba – jamesdixon

Wînipêk Gallery Exhibition

A few years back I was walking with my mother through the Winnipeg Art Gallery, looking at the art, excited to be there and be there together…when she stopped, raised her arms up towards the wall and dramatically said-

“And here it is Jamie…this is where your art will hang! I know your art will be in this gallery one day!”

Unwavering support, and her genuine smile, even when I would respond “Probably not mom”.

She’s not here anymore…and it’s a moment like this I wish I could share with her…She would be so proud knowing my film work is a part of the current exhibition at the WAG.

Staycation: The Art of Being Here, featuring the work of Manitoban artists, including my film “Wînipêk”

Film

WNDX Film Festival

My film Nikâwiy (mother) was selected for a WNDX retrospective program. A personal favourite, I’m so grateful that it was able to be screened at this film fest again!

From the program:

Prairie Retrospective 1: Something is Calling You

…For the WNDX Festival of Moving Image’s 20th anniversary, this program celebrates work by Indigenous filmmakers from the prairies that have screened at some point over the festival’s past twenty years. These films call to us from not so very long ago to revisit what has passed but also to imagine what lies beyond into the future of Indigenous filmmaking.

– Jenny Western

Opening title

Film

Wînipêk

As fall settles in, I’ve been reflecting on my film Wînipêk, which was selected to be a part of the ImagineNative film fest in the shorts program “Tied To The Land”. The screening was this past June at the Lightbox cinema in Toronto.

This film is very much transitional for me; experimental and narrative forms blending and working seamlessly together

Many thanks to my collaborator Thilo Schaller for your sound recordings and sound direction, it was so instrumental in how this film came together.

And thanks to Keara Barrett for working with me, your performance is amazing.

Wînipêk clip

Film

Snapshots

Black and white | Winnipeg | Summer

Art

New work

I’m really excited with these two paintings I’m working on! My main approach to a canvas is abstract and everything I do is intentional. Base coats bleed through, brushstrokes create small moments of light and colours are picked with an underlying meaning – The closer you look, the more you can find all the details

Photography

Shot on Film

I rediscovered my film camera, a Canon DSLR that was gifted to me from my mother (that was gifted from her Uncle). It’s been in our family for decades. I purchased a couple rolls of Kodak gold 200 film, and set out to get some images. Here are a couple from my first test roll, nothing specific, just a few shots from a downtown walk on a fall afternoon.

Nothing compares to the tangible grain from a roll of film.

Art

Painting In Acrylic

Two shots of a new piece I am working on. It’s not quite done yet…or maybe it is. I decided to leave it for a few days, put the brush down, step back from the painting and let the ideas settle into the canvas.

Art

New Art

“Hiding Spot” Acrylic, 16×20. I’ve been working on this painting for a week, creating a space to hide, through the colours and the corridors. I think about all the secrets we held so close when we were younger…when I was painting it felt like i was floating away…using the brush to ground me and bring me back down.

I’ve posted some close shots, you can see the textures, and how the colours blend. I’m happy with how this turned out, looking forward to revisiting this technique on another canvas.

Film

Winter Drive

Winnipeg on a Sunday afternoon, taking the streets that lead me downtown and back home again…

Film

Film Shoot

So grateful for this weekend and the team I got to work with, flexing my skills as the director. We spent a full day working together, filming and setting up throughout downtown Winnipeg, capturing some great moments and finding our groove as a film crew. We finished on schedule and we are stoked to see this project come to life.