Teaching Indigenous culture through art
Anishinaabe artist Que Rock explains ‘layers of teachings’ in Legacy Space mural
At a glance
- Ontario Teachers' sat down with Indigenous graffiti artist Que Rock who created a mural in our new downtown Toronto workspace to understand his inspiration and what he aims to convey to viewers.
- Que Rock's artist background is an influence of graffiti mixed with the woodland art style, which comes from a specific area near Lake Superior called Wawa, Ontario.
- He discussed being an ambassador for his culture and taking that responsibility very seriously.
- He wanted to create a mural that was educational. He calls this mural Anishinaabe 101 because it’s a great foundation for learning about his culture.
Fostering conversations about Indigenous history
Meet Que Rock, the skilled graffiti artist who created the stunning mural in Ontario Teachers’ Legacy Space, a prominent feature in our new downtown Toronto workspace. The result of a partnership between Ontario Teachers’ and the Downie Wenjack Fund, the project highlights our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and our path to Indigenous reconciliation. Legacy Spaces are meant to foster and facilitate conversations and learning about Indigenous history and reconciliation in a safe, welcoming environment.
For Que Rock, who is also known by his Ojibwe name Manidoo Nemeen or “Spirit Dancing,” the mural represents an opportunity to share and pass on Indigenous teachings he acquired as a young member of Nipissing First Nation and the Mai’ingan-doodem (Wolf Clan). Currently based in Toronto, the artist describes Indigenous education as being rooted in art and “observation, through understanding and learning the laws of nature and all the stories that are from our culture.”
We sat down with Que Rock right after he completed his mural to understand his inspiration and what he aims to convey to viewers.
Watch the video to learn more about Que Rock’s artistic vision behind this mural, which Is featured In Ontario Teachers' Legacy space, and how learnings from his past Inspires his art.
Describe your journey to becoming the artist you are today.
Que Rock: I started off as a powwow dancer. When I first started learning about Western culture, I gravitated towards hip hop which has four art forms: break dancing, DJing, emceeing and graffiti. Alex Bacon, who is one of my best friends as well as my mentor, invited me to a wall one day and said, “I'd love to do a mural with you, and I'll pay you to teach you how to learn.” That happened five years ago, and I've been painting murals ever since.
How would you describe your style?
QR: My artist background is an influence of graffiti mixed with the woodland art style, which comes from a specific area near Lake Superior called Wawa, Ontario. That's where the stone teachings are from, and you’ll see them in the mural. They’re called grandfather stones. We believe that the oldest teachings come from the Stone Nation.
It sounds like your mentor played a significant role in helping you develop your artistic style. How important is mentorship to you now?
QR: Mentorship for me has been a huge part of my evolution as an artist because I actually learn a lot more when I'm sharing. With mentorship, I follow a few principles. One of them is from hip hop culture where it's “each one, teach one.” In my culture, one of the ceremonies I was part of growing up was being a firekeeper. Essentially, as a firekeeper, you learn your culture and then you share what you’ve learned, but only when you understand it. I work with a lot of different artists. For this job, I worked with Sadie Marshall, who is a graduate of my mentorship program and good at what she does.
What does it mean to you to create a mural for Ontario Teachers’ Legacy Space?
QR: It always feels good to be able to share my culture. I'm an ambassador for my culture and I take that responsibility very seriously. My main goal is to make my family proud because most of my family members still live in extreme poverty, and we still deal with a lot of serious issues in our communities. I'm the only person from my family that's out here. An elder once told me that I was a bridge between my community and the city.
What was your vision for the mural?
QR: I know that Ontario Teachers’ is about educators, so I wanted to create a learning experience for the viewer. I call this Anishinaabe 101. It’s a great foundation for learning about my culture, but just the tip of the iceberg. Indigenous art is not art that's meant for interpretation. This is educational. Everything has meaning behind it, whether it's through sacred geometry, or symbolism. The patterns are not random.
What message are you conveying with this piece?
QR: To me, this [painting depicts] an accurate land acknowledgement. It's acknowledging all the nations that we share this beautiful place with on Mother Earth and on Turtle Island, which is the name of North America. It’s this territory that you're on right now, which is Anishinaabe territory.
Your art contains a lot of detail. What are some of the Indigenous teachings you’ve included in this mural?
QR: I don't shy away from having multiple layers of teachings and stories combined. I was taught the Six Nations Peace Treaty story based on a time when there were five great nations that lived on Turtle Island. And those five nations are the Bird Nation, the Fish Nation, the Animal Nation, the Insect Nation and the Plant Nation, which connects everything. They are all in this design. Before the first human was invited to the earth, the creator asked all of the Nations if they would be willing to be the human nation's teacher and they all agreed. I'm a direct descendant of Winona, who was the first Anishinaabe kwe. When she was created, she was given a set of instructions: walk gentle, walk in prayer and walk in a good way.
I also include the medicine wheel teachings. The medicine wheel is the first compass, created 20,000 years ago. It was a tool that my ancestors used, not only to understand how the four laws of nature work — Shkodé (fire), Aki (earth), Nibi (water) and Noodin (air) — but also how your natures work. You can move in four directions and, once you learn the foundation, you start to elevate those teachings and you can learn to move spiritually, which is in seven directions, meaning north, south, east, west, up, down and within. There's a lot of balance in this painting of duality. That's why there are two turtle shells – one’s focused on the spiritual world and one on the physical world.
What are you hoping viewers take away from your piece?
QR: My goal is to create awareness about Anishinaabe culture and give people an opportunity to see a perspective that they normally don't get a chance to see. If you could imagine an X-ray photo of spirit, this is what these paintings are in my culture. We're highlighting the energy, the coexistence of everything and how it's all interconnected. I think that's what I would like for people to take away, that curiosity to understand it deeper and then hopefully spark conversations.
