Ricky Ochoa - Sky Hopkina Artist Talk
1. "It's more about the purpose of the story rather than trying to make it an official document in the archive of story, of myth, or what my tribe believes in. So I'm interested in the utility of the stories without getting into the objectification of them"
I was shocked when I learned that the utility of stories can have objectification. Since Hopinka focuses on the purpose of the story coming from being an indigenous person in North America, I have wondered when presenting something of your own culture and such how do you treat it as a normal part of human existence without romanticizing or ridiculing it entirely.
2. "It's a challenge, especially with indigenous stories or any sort of people that have been affected by colonization. Their culture and our culture and their history and our history have been romanticized or treated as lost—[as if] it’s gone and it's been gone for hundreds of years and it's not what it was."
I often agree with this statement but it has left me with complications. I mean, when studying about history and when it comes to colonization. Cultural Assimilation is often a topic discussed about and knowing this we have gotten better at remembering past cultures that should be respected and kept in the modern times. I mean, indigenous cultures have also challenged our perceptions of reality itself and our own dominant belief systems. But I often feel sad at times because those in power would do anything to get anyone to assimilate and claim their culture is superior to others, and not only convince others that their way is the truth but delude everyone including themselves that is how the world works and as such can be concluded. In reality there is no such thing as a superior culture we just have different belief systems on how we view reality and the world around us. We give meaning to things and life and live out according to it. I learnt that Africa is the origin point of humanity and as such learned it's not a country but a continent with it's own unique cultures for Africans there. It is sad that throughout history that Africans are told that their history began through slavery. I have become more interesting in learning about African History to understand our origins of humanity and give them not just awareness but the ability to have some figures to look up to. That's why I often have characters from different ethnic backgrounds but I also wanted them to be unique in their own way so that's why I made them quirky so different people can relate to them and find some character to be attached too.
What material/medium/process do you use and how?
It didn't inspire me that much for my work since I like using Photoshop and Illustrator.
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