Water & Womb

2023

Acrylic on canvas

24" x 36"

Available at the Stonington Gallery

This painting is a portrait of Tulalip tribal member Roselle Fryberg. It is a glimpse of her beauty taken on her ancestral lands and waterways, pregnant with her sixth child. Dressed in her traditional cape and dentalium accessories, Fryberg was due any day in the winter of 2022.

Based on a photograph I took, I hope to enlighten viewers about the power of Indigenous motherhood and the connection coastal peoples have with water. Water & Womb threads the commonalities of life giving, matriarchy, and relations to space and time. Honoring the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, coastal peoples and their reciprocal stewardships shared and sustained by the saltwater.

Our bodies are powerful and are undeniably connected to water, land, and environment. Seeing
Pettibon’s loving rendition of Fryberg standing strong on her territory in front of an endless ocean gives a glimpse to a future of flourishing environments and families, and to a future of Indigenous sovereignty. -Alanna Edwards, Curator